Red Shadows
by OriginZero
Summary: In a world where both pokémon and humans have powers, there is one with none. However, when he gets sucked into a horrible game created by a creature that claims it's a god, he must use his intellect to survive and reach his goal. He will live, by any means. He will change the world. He is Red.
1. Prologue- the Origin

**Red Shadows**

* * *

Does fate exist? Does destiny control every part of our life? Is there a plan for the world, or are we all just floating freely into the vast depths of the unknown? Is there a gentle hand guiding us to what we will become, or are we all merely diving into a vast realm of nothingness? Do we create the world as we progress, or is it made for us? These are questions which will likely never be answered. There is a burning desire to know the truth, but the truth hides, cloaked in shadows, never to be found... the musings of the shadow reflected these imaginings, but in a way that a scientist reflects on the thoughts of a creature that he or she would love to dissect. The shadow was as close to omnipotent as a mortal creature could possibly get. However, this bored the shadow. It craved something to appease the terrible chains of apathy. The feature that vaguely resembled a mouth its face curved upwards. A game. That's it. Nothing gets more entertaining than blood, violence, and despair. The shadow began to tremble, and then laughed; a horrible, screeching noise. Yes, it would be entertained indeed.


	2. I: The Events Are Set Into Motion

**I: The Events Are Set Into Motion**

_An object in motion stays in motion_

_-Newton's First Law_

* * *

Ever since her birth, 16-year-old Leaf Greenrose was a blessed existence. She was the heir to the Greenrose family, one of the most powerful families which dominated the world, to begin with. As if that weren't enough, she was given good looks, excellent physical abilities, and a great mind. Popular, with a never-ending supply of friends, she had a life nearly as perfect as could be. She also had a strong divine.

Divine was the special power demonstrated by practically everyone. It was found by the esteemed Professor Samuel Oak at the same time that he discovered pokéball capture mechanics. By blending the power of a pokémon with a human, the said human was able to display similar abilities, although usually on a smaller, more precise, scale. Of course, that was first-generation divine. Nowadays, children were born with divine, which was mutated according to the child's DNA. Using this technology, the world had started relying less on electricity and machines, and now relied more on various types of poképower and divine.

As Leaf exited her house, yelling a quick goodbye to her servants and the pokémon moving about, she thought that she had noticed a hooded, shady character near the entrance of the Greenrose residential mansion. Discarding the fleeting thought, she ran outside and was promptly greeted by her best friend, Crystal Waterglass.

"Hey, Leaf! Good morning to you!" yelled the teen, waving her hand slightly. Crystal, or Chris as she liked to be called, was just slightly shorter than the five-foot-six-inches Leaf, and the same age. She had dark brown, nearly black hair going to her shoulders, tied in two pigtails. Chris was what one would call a genius. She was studying complex sciences far past her grade level, and had already formed and disputed dozens of theories and hypotheses. Unfortunately, she had gotten into an accident in her childhood, leaving her with weak arms. Being a member of a branch of the Greenrose family, she and Leaf had known each other since birth. She was also undoubtedly Leaf's best friend.

"You too, Chris!" Leaf, running out to meet her. The two walked to school, chatting along the way. Their school was top-notch, being one of the finest academies in the world.

"I heard that there's going to be a transfer student today! I hope they're a guy!" Chris squealed.

"Hahaha…" Leaf awkwardly laughed. She honestly didn't care. However, things like these were Chris's true obsession. She knew every piece of gossip floating around the school, and contributed generously to the flow as well.

"What's up, guys?" a boys voice interjected into the conversation. Gary Oak, grandson of the famous researcher Samuel Oak, strolled up to the due. He had gelled, spiky brown hair and was sporting his famous grin. Behind him, his twin brother Samuel Oak, or Blue, walked up. He also had slightly spiky brown hair, but the two twins were polar opposites. Gary was the popular, athletic cool kid, while Blue was the quiet, brainy student. He nodded at the two girls.

"We're just talking about the new student transferring into our class," Chris said.

"Oh yeah, hope she's a girl. We need some more cute chicks in out grade." Gary, ever the charmer.

"…" Blue kept on walking, poker-faced.

While the conversation continued, the group reached close to the giant entrance building. The size itself showed that the academy was a rich kid school. As the group walked closer to the gates, more students in their uniforms were visible, streaming into the building. The group entered the school grounds and walked up to their classroom.

"I wonder what'll happen today…" Leaf mused, as she stared out into the sun. She had a feeling that something was going to begin today.

"Same old, same old," Gary replied, smirking. "I'll skip the useless stuff, and pay attention to the real deal. For example, I now know exactly which underwear females in this class prefer to wea…" Gary dodged the bullet-speed kick heading his way, courtesy of Chris.

"Shut up, pervert!" She groaned, far too used to this ordeal for it to be healthy. Gary just laughed in response.

"_Why do you think I say 'smell ya later' anyways?_" he whispered, dodging another kick.

"One more time, and I'll use my divine!" Chris threatened, her water bottle opening and water beginning to swirl around her ankles. Gary, whose quick-wittedness was often too quick for his own good, replied,

"Oh no! Pleeeeaaaase don't! Your water-based divine may get me too wet!" WHAM! This time the kick connected, and Gary went flying, conveniently into the lap of some girl, who immediately began to pamper him. Blue sighed and Leaf sweatdropped at the same time.

"What an idiotic brother…"

"What an idiotic guy…"

Blue went to his desk, took out a lengthy book, and began reading ignoring the rest of his classmates. The bell rung, and the chatter between friends slowly died out as the teacher entered the room. A tall, skinny boy was accompanying her. They boy in question had long, messy, pure black hair which blocked most of his face from immediate view. He wore plain accessories on top of his uniform, had a plain appearance, and when he spoke, had a completely plain and normal voice, too.

"Hello. I will be your classmate beginning today. I do not expect it to be fun. Do not expect me to be friendly with you. I do not wish for you to learn my personal information. Thank you." The boy began to move down the rows of stunned students, towards an empty desk in the back of the room.

"Um… at least give us your name?" the teacher asked uncertainly, as taken back as the students were by the unfriendly proclamation. She had checked her student list, but only a picture had showed up. The boy stopped for a few seconds, as if to deliberate, and then finally sighed.

"Call me Red if you must."

With that said, he walked down the aisle, the heads of his classmates turning in accordance to his speed. With the appearance of being completely normal, he already didn't fit in with the rest of the kids who sported expensive jewelry and elaborate hairstyles. Combined with that cold introduction, if one could call it that, he had successfully drawn the attention of the entire class, intentionally or not. _Of course_, thought Leaf, _since Chris is here, the whole school should know in a few days_. The boy reached his seat, sat down, and promptly turned his head and began to stare out the window, seemingly oblivious to the concentrated stares of his peers. The teacher cleared her throat.

"W-well class, take out your book and turn to page…" Leaf switched herself to autopilot after that. She noticed Chris glancing at the transfer student… no, _Red_, making a mental note to talk to him during lunch.

* * *

"Finally! Lunchtime is here again!" shouted Gary. Chris rubbed her head, and Gary closed his book. Nobody in the class moved otherwise.

"…shall we head over to the Cafeteria?" Leaf asked, already knowing the answer. Heck, Blue closed his book, and Gary actually shut up. Things were serious. She slowly, timidly walked up to Red's desk. He was either asleep, purposely ignoring the class, spaced out, or dead. Leaf hoped it wasn't the last option.

"H-hello?" She asked. 10 seconds go by. Barry, a kid who makes a hummingbird on caffeine look calm, and probably the only person who Gary wouldn't joke to, stood up.

"YOU BETTER GIVE US SOME EXPLANATION OR I'M FINING YOU 10 MILLION!" Everyone in the room winced. Blue threw his book at Barry. However, sacrificing the class's eardrums seemed to have the desired effect. Red stood up, turned around, and looked at the class, glaring. Leaf took a step back. He opened his mouth, having a _very_ angry look on his face, and said,

"Did you guys just hear something? Or was it just me?" The anger transformed into a look of confusion. A girl in the class giggled, and it turned into full blown laughter. One by one, the students began to laugh, starting with a giggle or a chuckle, until the entire class was laughing. Leaf had probably never laughed so hard in her life. The shear idiocy of the situation just somehow made it funny. In the confusion, no one noticed Red escape the classroom, and so evade an interrogation. Red just didn't have the time for that. He smirked slightly as he walked down the hallway, listening to the sound from the room he had just exited. There was no need to worry. His plan would continue without disturbance. A casual student who was passing by could swear he saw his eye glow red.

* * *

The shadow laughed. Its game would start soon. It couldn't wait! To see the fool mix with the geniuses, to see all of the blood! Entertainment! The shadow roared with anticipation. Finally, the boredom would break! Images flickered near the shadow, forming into faces momentarily. A few images eerily close to the appearances of Leaf, Chris, Garry, and Blue flashed by. In the background, one could almost swear that they saw an image similar to Red in the shadows…

* * *

All right! That's the first real chapter out. I hope you enjoy it, and please leave a review! This is my first story, so I welcome any advice you may have. I'm writing and editing this myself, so if you point out errors in spelling punctuation, grammar, or anything else, I will do my best to fix it. I plan to update pretty frequently, unless I get to lazy. Thank you for reading!


	3. II: The Shadow Speaks

**II: The Shadow Speaks**

_A shadow is merely nothingness, a place where light cannot reach. Humanity fears the unknown, and gave birth to the thought that shadows are evil. However, sometimes the shadow conceals a truth better of not known. A shadow reacts, it cannot begin anything. Or can it..._

* * *

Today had started out like any other. Leaf had woken up, gotten ready, and walked to school with her friends. She had endured the long hours of and lectures in her classes, and was relieved to find out it was lunch. The only deviation in her schedule was the transfer student; he looked scary at first, but apparently was a joker. Lunch had ended, and Leaf's class had begun to travel down to the main auditorium for some announcement. It was a fine, ordinary day. So why did this happen?

"Leaf! Stop spacing out!" Chris screamed in her ear, over the wail of the gusting wind. It had been a warm, sunny day. The weather was beautiful, and Leaf had really enjoyed it. However, the word _was_ is the key one. Suddenly and out of nowhere, the sun had clouded over and sheets of rain had begun to fall. Thunder boomed in the sky. Now, it felt like a full-blown hurricane had struck the school. The most curious thing was that there was no one else in sight. Leaf would have expected droves of students and even teachers to be running into various buildings for cover, especially considering that most classes should currently be in transit from their classroom to the auditorium.

"Use your divine! You should be able to brace against the wind! Damn it, if only we had our pokémon with us…" Leaf was jarred back into the real world. How could she have forgotten? Leaf concentrated, and felt the surge of raw power run through her entire body. With a yell, she activated her divine, and was instantly surrounded with an aura of pure heat. Her divine, allowed her to summon superheated flames and control them as she willed. The rain evaporated as soon as it got close. The sheer heat that the flames were giving off made an unnatural air current heading up. The wind simply swept past her, unable to even touch her.

Looking up, she saw Chris gliding down, using her divine. Any water Chris touched could be controlled by her, the only restrictions being the laws of physics. She landed softly on the ground. Chris had created some complex structure which minimalized the damage to her body and maximized efficiency. Leaf sighed. Being a genius really helped. With barely a soft thump, Chris landed right next to Leaf. Leaf deactivated her divine and allowed Chris to form a water shield over her as well.

"Let's go to the auditorium! We'll probably find other students there!" Chris said. Leaf pondered on the idea. Although it was a long shot, the auditorium was probably where the most students were. Not only that, but their class was heading there. The fact that they weren't around probably meant that they had safely reached the sanctuary of the building. Hopefully. The other result was one that Leaf would rather not think about.

"Yeah! That's probably the best option! What the hell is going on, anyways?" Leaf muttered. Chris nodded. It seemed as if both girls wanted to crack the mystery down.

"No clue, but we need to find shelter right now. Let's go." Both of the girls sprinted towards the direction of the auditorium. The imposing building was easy to spot, even among the chaos surrounding them. Without the pouring rain blocking their vision and the buffeting wind resisting their path, the run was fairly easy for them. In fact, Chris had created some wheels made out of water, allowing them to speed forwards even faster. Sometimes, Leaf really envied her friend's divine.

As they got closer to the auditorium, Leaf and Chris slowed down. Chris dismantled the temporary water vehicle in order to keep the duo silent. Something seemed just… _wrong_ about the building, something that Leaf couldn't put her finger on. Pressing against the wall, they skirted around the edges. Suddenly, Chris motioned to Leaf to stop. They had approached a window. This was their best chance to scout the building before entering.

"HEEEEEEELP!" A scream eerily similar to their teacher's sliced through the pandemonium surrounding the pair. Leaf and Chris looked at each other, startled, and then broke out into a full-out sprint towards the auditorium's large, imposing doors in the near distance. Being cautious in order to secure their own safety was one thing, but Leaf, and apparently Chris, couldn't just wait as their friends were held captive and perhaps even tortured. Leaf mentally screamed. What was going on!

The duo finally reached the doors. They slammed the wooden pair open. Leaf took a deep breath and opened her mouth to challenge any aggressor, but stopped suddenly. Instead of being a bustle of panicked students and teachers, alive with activity, the insides of the giant auditorium was completely dark and silent. Leaf and Chris exchanged looks. This was even worse than if some criminals really had their class as hostages. There were only two things that the empty room could have signified. The first was that their class had gone back to another building and was safely encamped there in that shelter. Leaf bit her lip. Their class had been far closer to the auditorium than any other building when the storm had hit. There was no way any sane person would reject the safety of the auditorium just to return to a further shelter. This was the less likely option.

"No! It can't be!" It seemed as if Chris had followed the same mental route that Leaf had. Once again looking at each other, this time in poorly veiled panic and apprehension, they began to cautiously move in. The second and most likely option was that the enemy remained in this room, and their class was kept hostage somewhere. The two inched forwards, into the thick shadows. Leaf steeled herself. Wherever their opponent was, they had a huge advantage. They would be able to see and track the position of Leaf and Chris while the two girls would be kept, both literally and figuratively, in the dark. Both girls paused as they felt a disturbance in the air. A gust of wind blew, almost malevolently, at Leaf, who stumbled back. Something was attacking! Leaf fell down into the deepening shadows, which almost seemed to wrap around her as if to consume the girl. Leaf felt a scream rise to her throat…

"What's going on- oh it's you two!" a voice interrupted the eerie scene. Any abnormality that had been present in the auditorium vanished as suddenly as it had come. Leaf stood up, shaking and taking deep breaths. Her heart was beating at too high of a frequency. Out of the corner of her eye, Leaf spotted Chris who appeared to be in the same situation as her.

"What's wrong?" Leaf glanced up at the source of the voice. Standing in the doorway of the auditorium were two familiar figures, one with a concerned look on his face, the other passively staring at the two. Gary and Blue had arrived, seemingly with the same idea as Chris. Gary's divine, which allowed him to produce material that could imitate the properties of anything, combined with Blue's own, which allowed him to produce any type of energy, made a formidable partnership.

The two began to walk to the two girls, seemingly unaware of the events that had just transpired. However, it quickly became very apparent that something was wrong. The initial excitement at seeing familiar faces in the midst of the chaotic storm outside was dampened as the two latecomers saw the state of the auditorium and their two friends. Gary lurched towards Leaf in panic at her state.

"What happened?" Gary asked. Leaf looked down, just realizing that she probably looked disheveled. However, she was surprised when she saw large cuts which oozed out blood crisscrossing over her body. Her clothes were already stained red. Leaf was spared from having to give an answer to a question which she had no idea about when Chris stumbled towards the rest of the crowd. She began to explain what had happened.

Suddenly, a violent gust of wind slammed the doors shut, pushing the four teens deep into the room and leaving it in complete, unrelenting darkness. Real panic began to settle in. The four rushed to the doors, stumbling over seats and themselves. Grabbing the handles, Leaf pulled. The doors were stuck fast. No matter how much she tried, how much strength she used, the doors didn't even budge. Frustrated, Leaf launched a fireball at the offending objects. Although the flames impacted the wood with a large explosion, the doors still refused to give away.

"Leaf! Calm down! Just use your divine to make some light! You too, Blue!" Leaf looked back to where Chris had spoken from. Of course! How could she have been so stupid! Lighting up a small flame, she saw the worried, haggard faces of her friends. She saw an additional light flicker and then spring up from Blue's palms illuminating the doors and their handles. To Leaf's horror, she saw shadows binding the handles together, making it impossible to open. Looking back again, she noticed that the expressions on her friends' faces were steadily losing hope.

"What… just what is this?" Leaf cried out. Why had all of this happened? Was it some overpowered divine vastly superior to her own? Was it some malevolent figure, bent on destroying her or her friends? Leaf had another thought which she desperately wanted to be true. What of all of this was just a figment of her imagination? She would simply wake up in class, Chris laughing at her. Everything would be fine, the world at peace. The rest of the group seemed to be having similar thoughts. Gary was shaking, and Chris almost seemed ready to collapse. Blue was expressionless and still standing tall, but a slight tremble in his hands gave away his panic.

"Do you want to try out the back exit…?" Leaf asked weakly. She could already see their morale slipping away. Even she, the one who proposed the idea, was reluctant to do so. However, some action was better than none, so the group collected themselves and slowly dragged themselves towards the back of the large buildings. Leaf swallowed her fear as they entered the darkness, surrounded on all sides by shadows. Only a small bubble of light protected them from the tendrils.

As they approached the middle of the auditorium, the shadows began to writhe. Leaf flinched, expecting another attack, but nothing else happened. Before she could breathe a sigh of relief, however, a horrible screeching noise destroyed the silence prevalent in the room. The noise stopped, being replaced with a loud, booming voice.

**"Hear me, pitiful humans!"** The very sound of it caused every member in the group to hold their ears. It was a horrible, malicious voice which invaded their very being and iginited the worst things that they could think of. Just hearing the voice made Leaf want to curl up and die. The voice continued:

**"I am bored, so I invite you to play a game with me. You must use your brains, your brawn, your divine, your connections, and anything else that will aid you to win..."** Leaf summoned up the little courage that remained with her and spoke up.

"Hold on! Who are you!? And what kind of a game are you talking about!?" The others seemed to get some of their control back, and began to voice their own opinions as well.

"Yeah! Is this your doing!" Gary yelled at the mass of shadows. He shot a burst of his divine at it, but it was consumed by the darkness and didn't seem to do any damage.

"Release us and show yourself!" Chris demanded. Leaf could practically see her think, calculating the most probable identity of this assailant.

"…" Blue's glare was more than enough to make up for his lack of speaking.

**"SILENCE! Impudent fool, if you dare to interrupt me again… but no matter, as you will redeem yourself by bringing me entertainment!"** The effect of the voice was instantaneous. Without even meaning to, Leaf felt herself shrink back. She knew somehow that the others were feeling the same way. The voice simply sapped all positive feelings and energy out of any listener.

**"Now, I must tell you this. The game's rules are as follows:**

_**You must not die.**_

_**You must play in all games you encounter.**_

_**You must make your opponent think you are abiding by the rules in the games that you will encounter.**_

_**If you win, you shall win a fabulous prize**_

_**!If you lose, something far worse than you can imagine will happen…**_

**"I am currently talking to all participants of this game as well, with the same rules displayed. You will encounter various scenarios, each with their own objectives and opponents to beat. There will be blood, violence, despair… I love it! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"** The screeching noise filled the air again, and a small part of Leaf's mind noted that it seemed to be the voice's laughter.

The mass of twisting, writhing shadows vanished, leaving only the natural kind behind. A shockwave of pure energy burst out, momentarily engulfing all sources of light. Leaf felt panic rising, but it quickly fell when she realized that the voice was no longer present in the building, or at least speaking. Chris fell down, breathing heavily in shock. Gary was clutching his head. Even Blue, the emotionless one who rarely allowed anything to affect him, seemed shocked. Leaf could barely prevent herself from hyperventilating or even passing out. A few moments passed in this state as everyone recollected themselves slowly.

"Damn it! What the hell was that?" Gary breathed out. The question lingered in the rational part of everyone's minds.

"I don't know, but we better be on guard." Chris, the ever-wise-one, said. Blue nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, the doors to the auditorium opened, and the rest of their class filed forwards.

"Oh! You four are here already?" their teacher said. Leaf looked to the outside. Strangely, the sun was shining brightly in the background, and nothing gave any indication that it had been raining a few hours earlier. Everyone was looking at the four in concern, apparently slightly taken back by their disheveled looks. Leaf nodded at them, confirming her well-being.

The class, along with the rest of the school, slowly moved into the building and up into the seats of the auditorium. Leaf caught quite a few glances her way, and suspected that the majority were not looking at her slightly messed-up state. She expected Chris, who was sitting next to her, to make some sly comment. Her best friend found it amusing how Leaf managed to attract more attention unwillingly and accidently than the actual point of the situation. However, it seemed as if her friend was withholding the remark. Leaf was surprised when no comment came.

Annoyed, Leaf glanced over and saw that the person whom she was squeezed next to was Most definitely not Chris. Reflexively, she moved away, but the stranger showed no indication that he was paying attention to her. Further examining the person, Leaf saw a tall boy with raven-black hair. Leaf recalled the transfer student who had come just a few hours earlier. She had nearly forgotten in the midst of the chaos. Leaf blushed slightly in embarrassment, hoping that she hadn't made some stupid or tactless mistake. However, Red continued to ignore her, whether it be deliberately or not.

The assembly continued, mostly with nothing going on. Spacing out while some important person droned on about some trivial topic, Leaf thought about what had happened. The most probable explanation was that the voice had some incredibly powerful divine. However, that seemed unlikely as they somehow had caused the unnatural storm as well. Add that to that the fact that Leaf's entire class (except for Chris, Gary, Blue, and herself) were essentially teleported away and seemingly frozen in time and it would be apparent that there simply cannot be a divine of that caliber. However, if that wasn't the answer, than what was?

"Leaf, correct?" Leaf was rudely jarred out of her thoughts by someone's voice. She glanced over. It appeared to be Red who had spoken. "Your name _is_ Leaf, right?" It took Leaf a few seconds to realize that the boy was talking to her.

"Huh… oh yeah! Yeah. Leaf's the name!" She chuckled awkwardly. She had to stop spacing out so often. It was making life pretty uncomfortable.

Red was staring at her intently, making her feel slightly uncomfortable. Leaf was used to people looking at her. After all, she was an exceptional person. However, there was something about Red's gaze, something cold and calculating, which made Leaf shiver.

"You are the heir to the Greenrose family, correct?" Red continued, ignoring Leaf's lapse and obvious discomfort. Leaf glanced at him warily.

"Yes…" Leaf was getting a little suspicious. This was a person who she had met just a few hours ago, who had made quite an impression on her, quite in the wrong way. Now, with him digging into her personal information, and just after the encounter with the voice (which had left her more than a little rattled), she was getting paranoid.

"No, I'm sorry if I'm being too obtrusive. I was merely wondering if I met the true Leaf Greenrose! This is the modern day equivalent of meeting royalty, after all!" Leaf now felt very uncomfortable, but no longer suspicious. He was probably just some paparazzi. If she had paid more attention, she would have seen Red's eyes narrow and his mouth curve up slightly.

"_Check_." Red whispered to himself. Leaf looked at him in confusion, but it was quite clear that the small conversation was over.

* * *

School had finally ended for the day, and Leaf felt far better than she had before. Her nerves were finally at ease, and she had even partially deluded herself into thinking that the encounter was just a dream. Leaf stretched, content. Droves of other students streamed towards the front gates, impatient to go back home. Many lingered around in the school grounds, socializing with friends which they had been unable to meet in the duration of the school day.

Leaf heard fast steps on the stone path behind her and turned. Chris was hurrying towards her. Leaf smiled. The other girl was always late coming out of the building, too obsessed with gathering data from other students. Chris caught up and began walking by Leaf's side.

"Leaf, do you want to go to the mall or something?" Chris asked. "We really could use a break, you know." Leaf was sorely tempted by the offer. The trip would be fun and she would be able to take her mind off of the day's events. However, Leaf felt as if she needed some time to think in isolation.

"It sounds tempting, but I need to go home and train my pokémon. They've been getting a little lazy lately." The excuse wasn't completely false, but Leaf needed some time by herself.

"That's fine. I'll head home with you. I could use some practice myself!" Leaf smiled again. Chris really was a good friend.

The two set a brisk pace, both eager to reach home and relax. The setting sun cast a golden blanket over the scenery, and Leaf paused for a little to feel the beauty. The entire world appeared to be at peace and in comfort. For a moment, all of Leaf's worries left her.

Chris continued forwards. Realizing that Leaf had stopped, she turned around and continued walking backwards.

"What's up, Leaf?" Leaf looked up, still caught in the moment. However, before she was able to answer, Chris tripped on a rock. Leaf lurched forwards to catch the girl before she fell down and injured herself. Unfortunately, her wild grab missed. Chris continued her decent and impacted the ground. At least, she should have. However, somehow, she was swallowed up by her own shadow, and disappeared. Leaf saw the panicked look on her friend's face before she was consumed by the darkness.

"Chris!" Leaf yelled. She took a step, and her foot sank into her shadow. Leaf let out a strangled scream. Her leg felt nothing, and her entire body descended into the void. Leaf couldn't even scream again. AS the darkness completely overrode her vision, she began to feel faint. Before Leaf fell into the blissful realm of the unconscious, she heard the words…

"Welcome to your first challenge… Divine Mirror Tag!"

* * *

Second Chapter done! Thank you for reading, and thanks to NecropolisZero for reviewing! The action should begin in the next chapter, and I plan to make the chapters longer as well. I'll try to keep updating regularly. Once again, please read and review!

**Edit: **I looked back and read over the first few chapters of this story, and I must say I was quite disappointing in their quality. I've decided to edit, modify, and expand a few chapters (like this one) and probably even combine some. My new chapter updates may be a little slower because of this, and I apologize for that. However, I hope that the better quality of previous chapters will make up for that.

As always, please continue to read and review!


	4. III: The Maze of Mirrors

**III: The Maze of Mirrors**

_Every maze has its monster..._

* * *

When Leaf came to, she thought she was still sleeping for a moment. Her surroundings were completely black, with no noise being made. She couldn't even feel the ground! Panicking slightly, she thought of what had happened. _Let's see, Chris got swallowed up by her shadow, and then… I did too!_ Leaf snapped to attention. Now fully aware of her surroundings, she observed small things which she had missed before. Rather than floating in free-space vacuum, she was enveloped in a barely noticeable, black, misty substance. Concentrating her eyes to what she imagined was upwards; she failed to find a hole or any way out of her predicament. Something caught her eyes at the corner of her vision. A small, cleverly disguised machine was sitting right next to her. Bending down slightly to examine it, she was surprised when it began letting out static sounds.

"HELLO, ALL! WELCOME TO THE FIRST GAME OF THIS COMPETITION! MY NAME IS RAI OF THE DARK, BUT YOU CAN CALL ME RAI! I'LL BE YOUR HOST FOR THESE GAMES!" The sudden noise after silence made Leaf cry out in pain. _What's going on?_ Even considering the seriousness of the situation, Leaf couldn't help but associate the voice with Barry. She giggled a little, and calmed down slightly. The loud and obnoxious voice started again:

"THIS GAME IS CALLED 'DIVINE MIRROR TAG'! THE RULES ARE SIMPLE; YOU MUST DODGE ALL DIVINE POWERS WHILE FINDING YOUR WAY AROUND THE LABRYNTH THAT ALL PLAYERS WILL BE INTRODUCED TO SHORTLY! YOU ALL HAVE RECEIVED A NECKLACE WITH A JEWEL ON IT (at this point Leaf looked down, and noticed that there was indeed a necklace and jewel pendent resting on her chest) WHICH WILL BE YOUR 'LIFE', SO TO SPEAK. IF YOUR JEWEL GETS HIT BY ANY DIVINE, INCLUDING YOUR OWN, YOU LOSE! IF YOU ARE PUT IN A CONDITION IN WHICH YOU ARE UNABLE TO FUNCTION PROPERLY, SUCH AS SLEEP, PARALYSIS, OR _DEATH_, YOU WILL LOSE! IF YOU BREAK ANY RULES, YOU WILL LOSE! THERE ARE ONLY TWO WAYS TO WIN: ESCAPE THE MAZE, OR DEFEAT ALL ENEMY COMPETITORS. IN ORDER TO ESCAPE THE MAZE, YOU MUST NOT ONLY FIND THE EXIT, BUT SACRIFICE 5 JEWELS! YOUR OWN JEWEL CAN BE USED AS ONE OF THE SACRIFICES! HOWEVER, A SACRIFICE WILL BE CONSIDERED INVALID IF IT IS ADMINISTERED OVER TWO HOURS AFTER IT WAS ORIGINALLY TAKEN! ALL TOOLS AND ADVANTAGES MAY BE USED, INCLUDING POKéMON! IF YOU COMPLETE THE GAME WITH EXCESS JEWELS, THEN YOU WILL GAIN AN ADVANTAGE IN THE NEXT GAME THAT YOU PARTICIPATE IN! IF YOU LOSE, THEN YOU GAIN A DISADVANTAGE NEXT GAME! NOW, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, HERE'S THE 'GAME BOARD'!" Leaf was suddenly jolted out of her floating posture, and feeling the effects of gravity returning, began to fall. A scream rose into her throat, but the fall ended in less than a second. She noticed the misty material cushioning her fall. Whoever this Rai was, he obviously had taken care not to injure her before this 'game' began. Getting up and looking around, Leaf got her first look at the labyrinth. She caught her breath. The maze was a giant complex of mirrors. Big mirrors, small mirrors, convex, concave, curved, there seemed to be thousands just from where she stood, on a podium overlooking the area. Spotting a mirror relatively close to her, Leaf extended out a hand, reaching out to touch its smooth surface. However, something blocked her way. Looking closer, Leaf saw an almost invisible material between her and the mirror. _Glass_, she thought. Now scouring the entire 'board' with a concentrated gaze, Leaf caught glimpses of sheets of glass. There were as many glass sheets as there were mirrors, if not more! Testing the strength of the material, Leaf summoned her flame and shot it. The jet struck a sheet of glass, and went right through it! It continued on until it dissipated by striking another glass sheet. Upon closer inspection, Leaf realized that the two materials were different. The blocking glass was tinted slightly black, while the pass-through glass was tinged white. Shooting another jet of flame, Leaf observed it pass through white glass and strike the mirror. The flame bounced off the mirror's surface, as strong as it was before impact. _Interesting_, thought Leaf. The main objective of the 'game' seemed not to power one's divine through the maze and attacking as many people as possible. Instead, ambushes and strategies would prevail in this stadium. Finding the correct spot where she could reflect her divine off of multiple mirrors would probably be best.

"I HOPE YOU'RE READY, BECAUSE THE GAME WILL NOW BEGIN!" Rai yelled. Leaf's podium silently sunk into the ground, and the number '10' appeared in front of her. The countdown began. _3…2…1…GO!_ Leaf shot out of her podium. Seeing that the podium's material was different from the rest of the arena, as the ground was made of bulges and dips of mirrors, staying here would be an indication of her relative position to an enemy contestant. Finding the exit would be hard in the giant maze, where images could merely be reflections, and seemingly open paths could be blocked my mirrors, but it was the better option of the two. Leaf also needed four additional jewels before she would be able to exit. No need to be greedy, after all. She just hoped that she would survive.

* * *

Chris considered herself to be cool, calm, and collected. She was the brainy one of their little group at school, and the one who made most of their entertainment plans. She could get a little hyper at times, but Chris thought that she was level-headed when the situation called for it. So, when this entire fiasco had happened, she most definitely had not cried a little. She also hadn't panicked and tried to run off of her podium, banging her head on a glass sheet in the process. Now, however, Chris was able to appraise the situation with a relatively calm eye. Already figuring out the basic functions of each material, she was pleasantly surprised at the strategy-oriented 'game'. After all, that was what she specialized at. Once the host, Rai, had started the game, she had jumped off her podium as soon as she could, and landed on the 'second floor' of the maze. She could see vague, heavily distorted shapes of competitors, reflected off of hundreds of mirrors, moving about. Chris, as a result was currently felling pretty proud of herself. It was a basic battle strategy, after all, 'never lose the higher ground'. Chris doubted that anyone would look up at the ceiling before being struck by a devastating water attack. There was one weakness that Chris had, however, and it was completely related to her divine. She could only _control_ water, not produce it, and only had a limited number of water bottles. She hoped the semi-darkness and coolness of the maze would prevent the water from evaporating, but she would have to strike fast and hard if she wanted to win. A shape walked below her. Chris grinned. Her first victim had already appeared. She would win in no time at all.

* * *

Leaf sprinted around the maze, getting more and more desperate by the second. She had spotted an enemy right as they had spotted her. Going into autopilot due to her jumpy nerves, Leaf had instinctively shot a fireball straight at her opponent, which had harmlessly dissipated on a piece of blocking glass. The enemy had shot multiple beams at her, but had luckily missed. Leaf decided to run and think of a plan, but the opponent seemed to be insistent on fighting. Spotting a series of curved mirrors ahead, Leaf remembered the true function of the mirrors. Shooting a small ember at the same area where she saw the enemy's jewel being reflected, it sailed through the air. The enemy smirked; they were seemingly unaware of mirror's properties. The small flame hit the mirror, and reflected to the side.

"WHAT?!" Leaf's opponent screeched just before the ember completed its pinball route and struck the gem straight on. With a bright flash of light, the gem fell to the ground. The enemy stumbled slightly in a daze, before falling straight backwards into a shadow, disappearing. A number appeared before Leaf: 44. _44… does that mean there are 44 competitors still remaining?_ Leaf was brought out of her world by a bone-chilling scream. Ignoring her instincts, Leaf picked up the jewel and sprinted towards the noise, and was met by a gruesome scene, just as a _39_ appeared in front of her. Five dead bodies lay, mutilated, on the mirror floor. The blood-soaked corpses weren't the true fear, however. A girl, appearing to be about 15 years of age, with long, blonde hair, was kneeling at the floor by seven cloaked figures' feet and sobbing. The figure in front let out an insane laugh.

"Stop! What do you think you're doing! Stop!" Leaf yelled, and charged into the area. The figures and the weeping girl turned, surprised, towards the newcomer. Before anything else could happen, an eighth cloaked figure entered the scene, right in front of Leaf. Leaf stopped, wary of the stranger. Before anything could be said, an impatient, cloaked competitor leaped forwards and attacked with their divine. The eighth figure simply dodged the star-shaped rays that the enemy shot out, which reflected of the mirrors and rebounded back to its origin within a fraction of a second. The impatient one crumpled, his jewel shining brightly, and a small _38_ appeared in front of all who were in the vicinity. The rest of the cloaked figures stopped, stunned. This newcomer had defeated an opponent without using divine at all! Leaf inched backwards slowly and caught a look at the figure. They were wearing a tattered, worn black cloak, with an old fashioned suit underneath. A polished, black mask covered their face. It was completely smooth all round, and was shaped like part of a sphere cut off.

"All the pieces are in position. Our host, Rai, or whoever else is controlling this game, I, Fear, now call out check!" The newly proclaimed 'Fear' walked slowly toward the other cloaked figures. One began to stumble backwards in fear, but the other five attacked. Once again dodging attacks, Fear easily disposed of three opponents using their own divine against them. The remaining three were wary. One grabbed the girl, who was still kneeling, stunned, near their feet.

"Back off! I'll kill this girl if you don't!" The panicked figure shouted. They tripped on their own cloak while attempting to move away.

"You don't seem to understand. I am Fear. I invade your mind; I use your own self against you. You cannot use a physical barrier against me, especially on that I have no care for. I did say that all the pieces are in position didn't I? You are included." Fear turned towards Leaf. A point of red light appeared in the mid-left part of the polished mask.

"I will begin by destroying you, girl!" Fear yelled. Leaf backpedalled, and shot a stream of flames during her retreat, directly at Fear. She pulled behind a large mirror to think. _Crap, crap, crap, what should I do?!_ She hadn't thought about the fact that she could actually die in here, and nobody would know. Looking out of the small alcove she had taken shelter in, Leaf saw a crisp, charred, burning mass. The girl was unconscious next to the flames, with no jewel around her neck. Fear was nowhere to be seen. _What is that divine?_ Leaf thought. _If it's sight-activated, then wouldn't Fear be able to target me no matter where I hide? Unless I blind him with my flames. But if I do that, I'll end up destroying my own jewel!_ Leaf was feeling completely confused, panicked, and helpless at the same time. As she walked out, she constantly glanced over her shoulder. Once she saw a point of red light, and nearly fainted out of fright. She continued, and her anxiety wore her down until she couldn't move.

"Leaf? Is that you?" A voice drove its way into Leaf's mind. She wearily looked at the source, and saw a familiar face.

"Chris? You were here too?"

"Yeah! I'm surprised. What happened to you, though? You look terrible. Did someone attack you?"

"Kind of…." Leaf explained what had happened. Chris's eyes grew larger with each word that passed Leaf's lips. Leaf tiredly noted that Chris had four jewels hanging around her neck. Wait… four?

* * *

Chris was having a good time considering that she was ambushing and attacking people. She'd already gotten three additional jewels, and had seen a potential fourth victim. Chris had hurried to the obviously exhausted body, intending to make a quick kill, when she recognized the competitor. Now, Chris was in a dilemma. Leaf had two jewels with her. If Chris wanted to, she could easily knock out the worn out Leaf without any trouble and find the exit. Not only would she have cleared the maze, but she would get some bonus for having an extra jewel! However, the person lying before her was her lifelong best friend. No matter what happened, Chris just couldn't bring herself to betray Leaf for selfish means. That didn't erase the temptation, though. After Leaf had told her about Fear, Chris had become even more cautious. Allying herself with Leaf would only prove to be detrimental. Not only would she have to protect Leaf, who was in no shape to fight, but she would need to collect at least four _more_ jewels in order to exit.

"Oh yeah, how many competitors are left?" Leaf asked. Chris stared.

"Have you not been keeping count? There's been a massacre all over the place! People run away only to his glass and get shot down by divine! There are only 12 people remaining!" Chris decided then. There was no way she was going to leave her helpless friend alone. Leaf looked too weak, too vulnerable. Chris took one of Leaf's arms over her shoulder.

"Let's go somewhere safer for now." Chris said soothingly. She had heard noises and seen flashes in one direction, so it would be safer to head the opposite way. She'd take care of Leaf for sure.

* * *

Leaf had initially been worried when she saw Chris, especially after Leaf realized that Chris only needed one more jewel in order to complete the game. Her anxiety was further strengthened when she had seen Chris eye her necklaces. Leaf herself had briefly thought of assaulting Chris and grabbing the jewels, but she dismissed the errant imagining quickly. It stayed in the back of her mind however. Luckily, it seemed as if Chris was genuinely worried about her, and Leaf felt slightly guilty for doubting her best friend. Chris was leading them in a direction that Leaf presumed was safe, and for a minute, she did truly feel at ease. That was until they passed through a small gap between the conjunctions of two large mirrors and appeared in a giant, shadowed atrium of sorts. Competitors war piling into the area, some calmly walking, others sprinting madly. Leaf did a quick count: there were nine people, not including them, in the room. She looked around, fearing the worst. Sure enough, the one absence was Fear.

"Chris! We have to get out of here! We're caught in a trap!" Chris looked at her in confusion, but before she could reply, the other competitors got far too edgy. One struck a mirror, and it caved in. The raw, crushing power reflected off of the mirrors, leaving small craters where it hit. Finally, after a few seconds, another competitor cut a piece of blocking glass and dissipated the divine. Leaf looked at the structure of the room. It was practically the mirrored inside of a sphere, and glass created cells throughout the middle. It was the ideal location to trap one in, as even if an attack was dodged, it would continue to reflect of, and the dodger would eventually be caught in a glass cell. This was definitely Fear's work. She limped up to a nearby, cowering competitor.

"Why did you come here?" asked Leaf. The competitor, a young boy, recoiled from the sound of her voice.

"I-I-I h-heard sou…nds coming… from t-the other w-way…" Leaf looked back and exchanged looks with Chris. That was the reason they had come here, too. A few of the antsy opponents began to use divine.

"NO! Stop! If you use divine, there's no way we can escape this!" Leaf screamed at the top of her lungs. No one paid any attention. Flashes of light illuminated the battleground, and people began to drop. The survivor count appeared in front of Leaf, but it was more of a countdown until Fear won. There were only eight left, no, seven, no, five, no,… Leaf watched as the boy next to her was struck with a lightning bolt. The survivor count was at three when Leaf heard Chris scream. A giant, runaway ball of energy was headed at them. There was a burst of light, an impact, and then Leaf could see again. The survivor count was at two.

"Chris? Chris? Are you there? Chris? What happened? CHRIS?!" The scene was painfully clear. A large puddle of water lay before Leaf, while Chris was completely dry. She had flung her water shield in order to save Leaf, sacrificing herself in the process.

"HahahAHAHAHAHA!" Laughter poured out from the entrance to the chamber of defeat. Fear appeared, seemingly content with the results.

"FEAR!" Leaf screamed. She ran as fast as she could towards the figure, but fell before she was even halfway there. "I'll never forgive you! I will hunt you down! I will destroy you! Your evil deeds will not be without punishment!"

"Will you now, girl? I doubt it. You have to hide behind your friends, giving them up in order to save yourself. I bet you thought of taking her 'lives', correct?"

"N-no! No! I never did! No!"

"Despicable girl, who is the real evil one? I will make you suffer, girl. Beware me! I am Fear!" The figure approached, the dark perfection of the mask suddenly interrupted by the laser-like, scarlet light appearing. He walked closer, and stared at her directly in the face.

"You will suffer. I will kill your friend after I torture you. I bet you want me too, though, correct? You are despicable, idiotic girl."

"No! NONONONOSTOPITPLEASENONODON'TKILLMESTOP…" Leaf screamed incoherently as Fear drew closer. Something snapped, and she blacked out. _Please stop…_ was her last thought, before she embraced the oncoming darkness.

* * *

The shadow watched the game along with Rai of the Dark with interest. This cloaked figure, the one who was called Fear, was _very_ interesting, no doubt. Beating the game this fast was near impossible, let alone defeating all of the competitors. Not only that, but the shadow hadn't seen Fear use divine at all! This 'Fear' would be most entertaining. The shadow fought the urge to cackle. It wanted to see something. Was it that same boy? The shadow dismissed Rai. It watched, right before the game ended, as Fear took off their mask. Pure black hair was revealed, framing an emotionless face. The teenager's left eye was glowing red. Fear took off his cloak, and looked straight at the shadow, as if he knew someone was watching. His lips twisted upwards into a smirk. Red opened his mouth.

"Checkmate."

* * *

Chapter 3 completed! This is by far my longest chapter. It has nearly three times as many words as chapter 2! I kind of introduced Red and his alias this chapter, and I'll have more arenas and strategic scenarios later on. Gary and Blue will have a pretty major part in the story, so no need to worry, Oak fans! Yellow will make an official debut soon, if not the next chapter, but for readers who pay attention, you may have already spotted her. Please review!


	5. IV: The Origin of Fear

**IV: The Origin of Fear**

_Fear makes us feel our humanity_

_-Benjamin Disraeli_

* * *

Red watched the last competitor, his classmate, fall unconscious from sheer terror. It was his victory. Red took off his mask, and looked directly at where he presumed was some sort of viewing device. He uttered one word.

"Checkmate." The first game was over, and he had managed to come out victorious. His theory had been correct; the creator of this game wanted strategic entertainment rather than see violent gladiator fights in which people pummeled each other to death. Red reached to his left eye and pulled out a contact. There was a small device attached which allowed it to shine with red light. Red had been slightly uncertain if he would be able to survive before, but now those doubts were all but erased. If this first game was any indication, a well-made plan and its proper execution would be enough to win. Red picked up all of the scattered jewels, and with a bright flash was transported back to the school grounds. Hopefully he had made his debut correctly. Glancing past some trees, he spotted the unmoving bodies of his two classmates. They would be mostly fine in a while. Red gathered his things and walked out of the school grounds.

As he strolled through the ghettos of the city, Red couldn't help but feel disgust. The overwhelming majority of these people were useless, not that many of the 'normal' citizens were better. They just let the flow of time and erosion of space carry and destroy them. No one fought back, decided to go against the very fabric of their lives. Red never had like people in general, partly due to the horrible experiences he had in his early years. He hated interacting with them, talking, passing time, he even hated touching them. People were disgusting to him, as was the world currently. He would change that. Red put on his scarlet cap and covered up his eyes. There was no use in mingling with this crowd, after all, especially in his divine-less, defenseless, state.

"Hey, kid! Got any money? We sure could use some!" Some thugs had spotted him and apparently saw an opportunity to gain some easy money.

"Kids shouldn't be walking around here. How 'bout you give us something and we'll see that no one bothers you." The lead thug spoke with a slurred accent. He walked up, with a swaggering gait, and looked at Red as if he expected the teenager to immediately comply. Red lifted his cap slightly and glared. The thug was taken back.

"W-well sonny? Got anything for little ol' me?" The thug's accomplices had reached the area by now. Red spotted a large, grimy man who put his hand in his pocket and clutch something. This was past simple negotiations. Red turned his head and concentrated his gaze behind the gang he pointed at nothing in particular.

"What!" Red's yell made the thugs swerve their heads, all at the same time. By the time they looked back, their target was long gone. A disturbance in the wind was visible as Red ducked into a nearby alley. The gang all ran after him. The narrow corridor was heavily slanted down, and within a few dozen seconds, the gang had reached a dead end.

"See ya, idiots! Here's a present!" The gang looked up towards the entrance of the alley, where Red had toppled a dozen heavy trash cans. Ignoring the screams of pain, Red casually walked out and continued to his destination. In a few minutes, Red had arrived at a small, dingy apartment complex. He walked up the steps and heard them groan. Red opened a dirt-stained door and walked in. The room was completely enshrouded in darkness. Red paused. _WHOOSH!_ Red ducked and felt something fly above his head. Crouching into a defensive position, he faced towards the direction that he sensed his adversary was in and picked up two objects. He saw a shadow shift and lunge. Preparing his own attack, Red jumped up and tackled the shadow.

"PIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" The sound of electricity could be heard throughout the complex. In a bright flash if light, a small, yellow rodent was revealed. It had rosy cheeks and a plump body, and would have been described as cute if not for the glint in its eyes. Not sensing any movement from its opposition, it began to celebrate.

"Pikapipikakapika, pika pikapikaka…" The little mouse's self-congratulatory sounds were interrupted when was grabbed and lifted into the air.

"PIKA?!" It squealed and sent a high-powered current through its body.

"Ha! Stupid rat, did you think that I would actually be defeated? Think again!" Red was revealed to be holding the rodent up.

"Pikaka?"

"How? Obviously with my high-insulation rubber gloves!" The little mouse grumbled. "Did you really think I'd stay here without some protection?" Red continued, only to stop and scream in pain. The rubber had been heated up to superheated temperatures, burning Red's palms slightly.

"PIKAKAKAKA!" The mouse was obviously laughing. It literally rolled on the floor.

"You little…. Prepare for my ultimate attack!" Red lunged at the rodent and began to tickle it all over. It was screaming with laughter.

"How d'ya like that, huh, Pika? Feeling sorry now?" Red began laughing as well. The two began to calm down. Pika had been with Red for years, nearly as long as both could remember. They had been through thick and thin together, and had formed a strong bond. The two of them found each other due to the fact that they were both outsiders. Red didn't possess a divine; Pika wasn't able to generate electricity out of his body. Pika was able to run a strong current through his own self, however, and had high-speed reflexes like most electrically oriented pokémon. Red had created a device which allowed him to create flashed of light and spread a current over his skin. However, Pika still had to touch his target or a connecting conductor in order to shock the object.

Red walked over to the small kitchenette. He opened a cupboard and looked inside.

"Chips again, huh." He pulled out a bag of the potato variety and opened it while sitting on his couch. Pika snuggled into his lap, stealing a few chips every now and then. Red began to think. What should he do next? Obviously, he had to keep participating in and winning games. Hopefully, the name 'Fear' had spread around. Top priority was to find the controller of these games. Red had a strong suspicion that the game master had some connection to the Five Great Families; after all, by interrogating other competitors, he realized that they each had an unusually powerful divine. Only the Five Great Families would have the resources to find these people. However, he also realized that the game master was actually _more_ powerful than the families. After all, what kind of leader would send their own daughter into a twisted game as such? He seemed to be fighting an almost godlike entity. Red could think of 14 different possibilities, but it was the most likely one that sent shivers down his spine.

"Pika?" Pika looked up to his companion, worry apparent on his face. Red resumed petting the rodent, who sighed in pleasure. If it truly was _that_, then Red had a lot of planning to do. He had met _that_ once long ago, and it was a rather unpleasant encounter. There was only one way to defeat his adversary and accomplish his goal. Red got up. Pika fell to the floor and growled, but stopped when it saw the expression on his companion's face. Red looked up, a slightly insane light apparent in his eyes. Picking up his mask and cloak, Red left. It was time to make his move.

* * *

Leaf wasn't having the best of days. First the voice, then 'Fear', and now she had woken up, lying in dirt. She sat up, and recalled exactly what events had transpired before.

"Chris!" Leaf let out a panicked yell. She looked over to her left, and saw the body of her best friend. Leaf quickly crawled up, fearing the worst, but sagged down in relief when she saw the slight rise and fall of the other teenager's chest. A quick scan showed that neither of the two had any physical injuries. Leaf's thoughts were interrupted when she heard Chris groan.

"Ugh… what happened?" She spotted Leaf, and the other girl could see that she had just remembered what had happened. Leaf realized that Chris was beginning to go into shock, and began to soothe her.

"It's alright, Chris. We're safe. Fear isn't here." As Chris began to calm down, Leaf looked around. No one else was in their vicinity as far as she could tell, and nothing unusual was around. Either whatever had dragged them into the game was long-ranged, or it was long gone. Chris squinted her eyes and blocked out the dying sun with her hand.

"That's weird. I thought that we were in that game for a few hours at least, but it looks like it's the same time here to me." Leaf realized that she was right. Leaf had been looking at this exact picture of natural beauty before the game had begun.

"Were we pulled into some sort of an alternate dimension? Or were we just hallucinating?" Leaf asked. She had no idea what was true anymore.

"We probably weren't hallucinating, because it would've been too hard for both of us to imagine the same thing. Also, time would have still passed, even if just a few minutes. This is the exact same time!" Leaf considered that. She supposed that Chris's reasoning was valid, but the mystery still remained.

"I wonder if this has anything to do with that voice," Leaf said.

"Probably, but I just don't know. Everything seems blurry now…"

"Let's head back home first. We can talk about it later," Leaf suggested. Chris nodded in confirmation, and the two of them got up and stumbled forwards. The mental damages caused by the game left both of them extremely exhausted. Leaf couldn't wait to go back to sleep.

* * *

Blue Oak was horrified. He had spent the day normally until the incident in the auditorium. He'd tried to forget it, but it refused to leave his head. No matter how engrossed he was in his book, the voice continued to repeat in his mind. Blue was so out of it by the end of the day that he forgot his textbooks back in his class. He had turned and ran back as soon as he noticed (but not before a snide comment and a 'smell ya later', courtesy of Gary) and had made it to the front building of the school just as the sun was setting. He had stared at the red sphere in the golden horizon for a moment, simply reflecting. Then, he had walked up the main path, when he heard a scream. Sprinting to the source, Blue had reached a boundary of trees. Before he'd left his cover, Blue had paused in shock. Had he just seen Chris fall into her shadow? Before he could make another move, the second person, who he recognized as Leaf, had met a similar fate; she was completely consumed by the darkness. Blue had lurched forwards in order to try a futile attempt at rescuing the two when they had reappeared out of the ground. Blue had rubbed his eyes, wondering if the voice had finally driven him insane, when he had realized that the two girls were in completely different postures that before. Not only that, but Chris appeared to be unconscious. He'd seen Leaf wake up, and Chris follow suit. Blue would have revealed himself, but some gut instinct made him refrain from doing so. He could barely hear their conversation, but two words caught his attention: 'fear' and 'voice'. Were they talking about _that_ voice? Or was it just a coincidence? And who or what was fear? The two girls had left in a drunken fashion, and Blue now felt that it was safe to exit his hiding spot. He walked over to the approximate location that the two girls had been at, crouched down, and looked. There was absolutely nothing unusual about the area, save naturally occurring disturbances. Blue stood up. He was going to have to do a lot of talking with Gramps.

* * *

Red had taken the guise of Fear in order to do some investigating. Striking up a ruckus along the way was naturally a part of his plan too. He needed to make Fear as well-known as possible, and there was no better way to gain a notorious reputation than through the media. He was _not_ expecting, however, to meet a familiar blonde girl while walking on a rarely used street in the outskirts of the city. 'Meeting' may have been too generous of a term. To be precise, he had caught the girl spying on him. Which brought him to his current situation. Red was in a dark alley, pinning the blushing girl against the wall. The situation even made him, the cool and collected one, uncomfortable. He decided to go with the 'ruthless villain' act.

"What do you think you are doing, little girl?"

"U-um… I… was… walking?" The girl seemed to barely be able to deliver a proper sentence. Whatever the case, even the most idiotic of fools would be able to see that she was no threat. She was physically weak; her muscles were barely conditioned. Also, her first instinct when she was attacked to cringe and back up. She was most definitely not accustomed to fighting. The girl patted down her dress and ducked her head.

"U-um… I just wanted to thank you for saving me!" The girl spoke all of her words in a rush. She blushed. Red was not at all used to receiving thanks, so he had no idea how to respond. He was able to excel in anything which required a brain, but situations like these proved how far away he was, mentally, from the rest of society. Red continued his villain act.

"It was not my intention to do so. It was simply the best option at the time. Also, if you had noticed, I had destroyed your jewel as well."

"But you still saved me! I still need to thank you! Nobody has ever done that much for me before!" This was the most emotional statement the girl had made, but she ducked her head again right after. Red studied her with a more critical eye. _She's wearing used clothing, not bought, handed down, to old, slightly malnourished, traces of bruises and scars. There are exactly 7 options, which one? Abusive or drunk single parent? No, too unlikely, so it must be…_

"An orphan, bullied by the other residents and ignored by the orphanage personnel for possessing an unusual divine, correct?" The girl looked up in shock.

"How did you know? Did they te…"

"No one has told me anything." Red's eyes softened slightly. This girl was something greater than him; she continued to be kind even after facing hardship.

"You are worried that I will betray you, correct (once again the girl's eyes shot up in shock)? I will not. In order for you to trust me, we will not give our real names to each other. I call myself Fear. I will call you…(Red looked at her long, golden hair)… Yellow. We will be acquaintances from this point forward, and we will never be able to hurt each other, for we do not know who the other really is. Now, girl, Yellow, I would suggest for one like you to head home before the night gets going." Yellow's eyes were shining. She leaped forwards and hugged Red. The teenaged boy recoiled at her touch, but the emotionally overwhelmed girl didn't appear to notice. Yellow let go of him.

"We'll meet again tomorrow, right here, okay? You're my first friend!" Red nodded, happy that she had let go. He briefly watched the girl run away, and then turned his head towards the moon. It was time to begin his operations. A small, inconspicuous truck was going to deliver a large amount of smuggled goods to a branch of a large crime syndicate. Red had chosen this shipment specifically because he had heard rumors that the goods were firearms. The branch office was in the middle of downtown, too. The more attention he attracted, the better. There was also that one last reason why he chose this organization to attack. Red took out the proper tools and hot wired a nearby car. He sped towards the location. His plan required him to time things perfectly. He was on a tight schedule.

* * *

Gary had decided to take a stroll downtown. He was in the main section of the city, and it was buzzing with life. Gary winked at a flock of girls nearby, who giggled. Life was pretty good! Deciding to visit a nearby store, he crossed the street and entered. An enthusiastic young male, probably a university student, greeted him. Gary shrugged it off; this store needed more young and female employees. There were no particularly interesting products, and Gary was about to leave. However, a glittering necklace caught his eye, and he paused momentarily. That pause saved his life. SCREEEEEEECH! A car slammed into the sidewalk directly in front of the store. The store's glass shattered and heavy products began falling. Several customers screamed and were struck by debris. The employee had been knocked out by falling merchandise. Gary quickly activated his divine and set up a wall of earth psycho as a shield. After checking to see that everyone in the store was out of immediate danger, he ran outside into the newly forming crowd.

"What the hell does this driver think he's doing?!" Gary screamed in the direction of the car. He peered inside the window, but _no one was there_. His thought process was interrupted by the wail of police sirens.

"What's going on?" Gary asked a bystander.

"Didn't you hear? Some lunatic hijacked a car belonging to an underworld organization, and no… hey! Where're you going?" Gary sprinted at full throttle towards the origin of the siren noises. He approached the police line.

"Let me through! I'm an experienced divine user!" The police paid no attention to him. Gary growled in frustration. This was an emergency. He could explain to Gramps later. Gary screamed.

"What is that?! A bomb?!" Immediately, the police turned. Gary broke through the line and sprinted inside the building, ignoring the indignant shouts of the police behind him. There were bodies lying around. Some had bullet holes and were bleeding puddles on the floor, and others appeared to have been electrocuted to death. However, some bodies were simply lying there, seemingly unharmed. They could have been sleeping if not for the noticeable absence of a heartbeat and breathing. _Divine_, thought Gary. He would have to use caution. There was a lot of commotion on a floor above. Gary ran up the stairs and through various rooms, dodging slot machines, card and billiard tables, and arcade games during the process. He arrived at the correct floor just in time to see a masked figure hold up a gun to a clearly terrified crook. He heard footsteps behind him. It seemed as if the police (and naturally, the media) had followed him.

"Hands up!" yelled a cop, pointing his gun at the cloaked, masked figure. The figure turned their mask towards the camera. A laser-sharp point of light shone on the left of the mask.

"No! Stop! Please don't shoot me!" The crook begged for his life.

"How many people do you think you've shot in cold blood?" The masked figure extended their arm further and squeezed the trigger. BANG! Gary was horrified. He saw the gun fire, the bullet strike the crook's body, and blood run down his shirt as he slumped down to the floor.

"Hear me now! I am Fear! I invade the minds of those unworthy, and I destroy them! I am the one who destroys all, but destroys none. I AM FEAR!" The camera was eating up this proclamation. Everyone was too stunned to move. One of the cops came to his senses.

"Stop! Drop the gun! Surren…"

"HAHAHAHA! Fools, I have no use for you!" A shadow darted out of a nook in the ceiling. What appeared to be a large rodent dropped to the middle of the room, and suddenly, Gary was blinded.

"The bastard used flash!" The police troops cursed, and began to stumble towards the exit. Gary's eyes cleared, leaving no trace that Fear had been there at all. Gary vacantly stared at the massacre that he had just witnessed. The pooling blood blended perfectly with the scarlet 'R' embossed on all of the crooks' black uniforms.

* * *

A male silhouette turned off his television set. He sat behind a large desk, with a larger window with its curtains pulled dominating the background. Chuckling slightly, he clinked his teacup against the matching dish, and a butler appeared.

"More tea, sir?" The butler bowed respectfully. The silhouette nodded, and then lifted the fresh cup up to his lips. Sipping the drink, the silhouette thought about what to do.

"Call Giovanni." The butler bowed in affirmation and left the room. The silhouette put his cup down and laughed. This was going to be very entertaining, indeed.

* * *

The shadow looked. Fear had managed to make current affairs quite interesting, indeed! The shadow snapped its fingers. Rai of the Dark appeared out of nowhere. The shadow looked at the other figure.

"Yes, I have indeed. The next game is prepared, and I will put it into action. I would expect great fun from this!" Satisfied, the shadow waved Rai out of the room. Fear was interesting, but if he truly was _him_, then the shadow would have to act. The shadow laughed. Things had become _quite_ interesting.

* * *

Done with Chapter 4! Whoot! Thanks for continuing to review, NecropolisZero. This chapter was less strategy and more action, but I plan to create another game next chapter. Red was pretty fun to write, especially his interactions with Pika. I hope I closed any holes and desires in this chapter, such as the Oaks, Yellow, and Red's pokémon. Please continue to read and review. I do read reviews and attempt to modify the story based on my readers' suggestions, and I enjoy doing so. Thanks!


	6. V: Return of the Game

**V: Return of the Game**

_game- 1.__An activity providing entertainment or amusement; a pastime_

* * *

Professor Samuel G. Oak was what many would call a genius seen once every 100 years. He had invented numerous systems and advanced modern technology so much that the pre-Oak times were like the Stone Age in comparison. He was the mastermind behind practically every product in the market, and had more patents and rights than even he could quickly count. Oak wasn't just a scientist, however. He was a prominent, well-respected figure in society, and partook in many debates and political discussions. There wasn't a more decorated man in or ever in existence. Professor Oak was also a weary man. The numerous social gatherings and long periods of public appearances had taken their toll on the old man. He would much rather be alone, peacefully passing his time, than keeping up public face. However, connections were necessary in the corrupted, modern world if he wished to continue his scientific career. The world was so dependent on Oak that he feared at what would happen if there was no one to take over his enterprises. His only son had died years ago, and his grandsons weren't ready for the task, especially Gary. While Sam would be able to handle the responsibility fairly well, he just wasn't mature or experienced enough yet. Oak sighed, and rubbed his head. Why couldn't he just have retired when he had the chance?

"I'm home!" Gary's shout echoed throughout the mostly empty halls of the vast Oak residence. The professor turned. Gary sounded… different. Something must have happened. Oak turned on a nearby, state-of-the-art television set. The soft glow of its screen cut through the darkness that Oak was pondering in.

"…investigators are still looking for leads. We'll update you when we get additional news, so keep on watching!" The reporter's voice was cut off as the screen changed to some advertisement about a pokémon soda.

"What is going on…?" Oak turned his swiveling chair and quickly typed commands onto a nearby keyboard. Search results showed up on the connected monitor. Oak squinted his eyes. Something was strange. Rather than a recent event, the word 'fear' was popping up all over the place and it was used as if it were a proper noun. Oak clicked his mouse on a particularly promising link. Scanning through lines in a chat room, Oak got the idea. Clicking on another link, Oak's interest only grew. A voice began to speak through the computer system's small speakers.

_"Hear me now! I am Fear! I invade the minds of those unworthy, and I destroy them! I am the one who destroys all, but destroys none. I AM FEAR!"_ Oak watched the bold proclamation of the masked criminal. However, he was more concentrated on the slumped corpses in the background. Worn proudly and brazenly, the uniforms had a familiar looking scarlet 'R' embossed on their fronts.

"Rockets." Oak frowned. Was this merely a fake, amateur organization attempting to mimic the original bearers of that symbol? Or had Giovanni returned? Oak snapped his fingers. An automated limb stretched out from his desk and created a hologram to the side of the old professor. Stretching out his fingers and lightly tapping the display, Oak typed in the keywords. As he saw the results, his stomach dropped. However, something unusual caught his eyes. Looking closer, Oak began to laugh. As a plan began to form in his head, Oak realized that both his problems of a successor and this new one could be solved in one fell stroke. He pressed print and left the room in order to continue his research. A page began to slide out of a machine in the corner of the room. The title said, in bolded, all-caps letters: _FIFTEEN MAJOR BRANCHES ATTACKED BY FEAR SIMULTANEOUSLY - ROCKETTO INDUSTRIES._ A map of the attacked locations printed right after it. If one had taken the time to connect the areas, they would have seen what Oak had in an instant. It spelled out 'FEAR'.

* * *

Yellow was the happiest she'd ever been in her life. She had made her first friend, who had saved her, accepted her person even after knowing what she was, and even went out of their way to make her trust them. She felt slightly guilt for the first and last parts. Yellow sat down on her small, hard bed. She had finally gotten something that she wanted. A friend! She could barely contain her excitement.

"Come down! It's time for dinner!" Yellow's smile faded slightly. The other kids all left her alone at the corner of the table, and did every small thing they could to bother her. Why were they so cruel? Well, Yellow had a friend now. Asking for more would probably be too selfish. Yet, even while these thoughts running through her head, Yellow wished nothing more than to live in a place where everyone got along. Too caught up in her thoughts, she accidently scratched herself against a broken piece of wood. Immediately, a small sphere of soft, glowing light surrounded the injured area. Within seconds, the cut had closed up and the scar had disappeared. Yellow sighed. It was this power which had separated her from others since a young age. Everyone called her a demon, a monster; they claimed that she had the evil power of immortality. It was a ridiculous notion, but she could see why people may be afraid. Unfortunately, with her meek and compromising nature, the fear had quickly turned into maliciousness. No one had dared to hurt her before. Perhaps fear had a use after all.

"COME DOWN NOW!" Yellow started. She had completely forgotten!

"Yes! I'm sorry!" Yellow raced down the stairs and reached the large kitchen area. Sitting down at the long, wooden table, she prepared for another lonely dinner. Whether luckily or unluckily, in her haste she had failed to see the headlines of a flashing television set: _Criminal Fear Massacres Dozens_. Yellow ate in silence, avoiding the gaze of others and enduring the situation by thinking warmly of her new friend, Fear. She couldn't wait to meet again. Her thoughts were broken when she began to feel a downward pull on her body. Looking down, Yellow was horrified to see a circle of pure shadow surrounding her. Before she even had time to open her mouth, Yellow tumbled into the abyss.

* * *

Blue had gone home and thought. He had then completed his homework within minutes, and then had resumed thinking. After he began to feel traces of hunger, Blue ate a quick dinner and then thought some more. His brain located all of the information he had heard about Fear and voices, and all that he had researched through the internet. His brain grasped all the information, sorted out the unnecessary and obviously doctored parts, and began to fit the pieces together. Blue had always been good at things like these. When he was young, Gramps had said the he was, at the age of five, one of the best detectives he had ever seen. Coming from Gramps, that was no compliment. It was a fact. That is exactly the reason why Blue was so frustrated. His mind rarely let him down, and it bothered him to no end when he reached the end of his deductive capacity. There just simply wasn't enough information. Blue got up from his chair and began pacing. What was going on? That map couldn't have just coincidently spelled out 'FEAR', and how the hell could one person attack 15 different locations at the exact same time? There could have been multiple culprits or some special divine, but that got him no closer to any answers than before.

"Char?" Blue looked over his shoulder. His previously sleeping pokémon had just woken up from its nap. Rubbing the small, lizard-like creature's head, earning a contented sigh in response, Blue continued to imagine possibilities. Each was more unlikely than the last.

"Dammit!" Blue swung his fist and struck a wall. His charmander looked at him in confusion. There were absolutely no leads that he could find. Would the shrouds of mystery surrounding Fear never be penetrated? Something shifted under his feet, and blue was suddenly thrown off balance. As he fell, he saw the gaping maw of unrelenting shadows prepare to swallow him up.

"The same thi…!" Blue vanished into the darkness.

Blue woke up in a glass cage. He sat up, bleary-eyed, and looked around. He was surrounded by slightly opaque glass on all sides, including up and down. There appeared to be slightly over two dozen other people along with him. He heard one of the others cuss.

"Not this again!" Blue's mind whirred. 'Again" meant that this had happened before, obviously. Could that have been where Leaf and Chris had gone…?

"WELCOME TO THE NEW GAME BOARD! I AM YOUR HOST, RAI OF THE DARK! SOME OF YOU MAY HAVE ENCOUNTERED ME BEFORE, OTHERS MAY HAVE NOT! HOWEVER, THAT'S BESIDE THE POINT! I AM HERE TO INFORM YOU OF THE RULES OF OUR NEW GAME! WE ARE NOW PLAYING THE SO CALLED 'HUNTER-PREY GAME'! I WILL NOW EXPLAIN THE RULES:

EACH TEAM IS COMPRISED OF EXACTLY TWENTY-FIVE MEMBERS.

THE TEAM IN THE METAL CAGE IS THE HUNTERS! THE TEAM IN THE GLASS CAGE IS THE PREY!

THE GAME BOARD IS MADE UP OF 9 LARGE, 10 KILOMETER EDGED CUBES! EACH OF THESE IS CALLED A 'SECTOR'! EACH SECTOR HAS ITS OWN PARTICULAR TERRAIN, WHICH BOTH TEAMS MUST ATTEMPT TO TWIST TO THEIR ADVANTAGE!

THE TASK OF THE HUNTERS IS SIMPLE: CAPTURE ALL OF THE PREY BEFORE YOUR DEFEAT!

IN ORDER TO CAPTURE A PREY, YOU MUST HAVE TWO HUNTERS TAG A SINGLE MEMBER OF THE PREY AT THE SAME TIME! THIS WILL FREEZE THE PREY UNTIL TWO OTHER MEMBERS COME AND FREE THEM BY TOUCHING THE FROZEN MEMBER AT THE SAME TIME! IF THE MEMBER IS SUCCESSFULLY UNFROZEN, THEN ALL MEMBERS OF THE PREY GAIN A 20 SECOND IMMUNUTY SO THEY CAN RETREAT TO SAFE GROUND! IF ONLY ONE HUNTER TAGS A MEMBER OF THE PREY, THE PREY IS FROZEN FOR FIVE MINUTES, AND THEN RECIEVES A 45 SECOND IMMUNITY! BE WARNED: BEING FROZEN CAUSES EXTREME BODILY PAIN!

THE GOAL OF THE PREY IS TO CAPTURE THE FLAG HIDDEN IN THE METAL CAGE BEFORE ALL THE PREY IS FROZEN!

THE WINNERS GET A PRIZE! THE LOSERS; A PUNISHMENT!

EACH SECTOR CAN BE MADE INTO A SAFE ZONE FOR A PARTICULAR TEAM IF A MEMBER OF THAT TEAM FINDS THE 'SECTOR ORB'. ONCE TOUCHED, ALL MEMBERS OF THAT TEAM GAIN IMMUNITY ON ALL BODY PARTS IN THE SECTOR! THE SECTOR ORB WILL RANDOMLY APPEAR SOMEWHERE ELSE IN THE SECTOR AFTER TOUCHED, AND THE SECTOR CAN EASILY BE TURNED INTO A SAFE ZONE FOR THE OPPOSING TEAM EVEN AFTER INITIALLY BEING ONE FOR THE OTHER ONE!

NOW, USE THE SECTORS AND ALL OF THE RULES TO YOUR ADVANTAGE, AND HAVE AN EXCELLENT GAME! THE 30-MINUTE PRELIMINARY PERIOD WILL START BEGINNING NOW, AFTER WHICH COMPETITORS WILL BE ABLE TO EXIT THEIR CAGE!" The voice disappeared, and Blue remained as he was in shock. Just what had he gotten himself into?

* * *

Red had been expecting a game. The voice had said it wanted entertainment, and obviously it had the power to get it. Not only that, but his recent activities would create excitement for the being, as it would have to hear of the incident no matter where it was. After concluding that the possibility of being dragged into another game had a probability of 73% (rounded, of course), Red had prepared his disguise. Because of this, Red hardly lifted a brow when the shadows had swallowed him up. Red had listened to the rules in silence, waiting inconspicuously in the corner of the glass cage. His theory was correct; the voice seemed to prefer strategic feats over pure power. Red stepped out of his corner and examined the still competitors. Some seemed slightly depressed and panicked; these were people who had already participated in a game. However, some seemed confused and even relaxed, as if expecting the entire situation to be some sort of candid camera prank. These competitors had obviously never partaken in a game before. Did that mean that there was some kind of order to who was chosen? Or was it random? Technically, there were an infinite number of possibilities. The valid competitors closest to a certain area could be picked, or ones with a particular aspect to themselves. Red shook the thoughts out of his head. He would deliberate on that topic later. For now, he had to concentrate on winning this game. Red stepped into the middle of the cage. Others had previously either been staring, desolate, at the shadows framing the outside of the cage, or beginning to panic. Heads turned as he strode confidently into the center of attention. The stares were at first uncaring, seeing right through him as if he was another, mobile, section of the glass which formed their prison. Slowly, his identity began to seep into the other competitors' comprehensive thoughts and eyes widened. Crawling backwards slowly at first and then making a mad rush to the outside areas of the cage, a nearly perfect circle had formed around him within a matter of a few seconds. One panicked, hot-blooded competitor snapped.

"Who do you think you are, you…!" The man took a wild swing with an acid-coated fist. Red stepped back. The man lost his balance and began to fall. Red lifted up his leg and gently tipped the acidic fist slightly. The seemingly useless action had a powerful effect when the man caught himself just before he hit the ground; the divine-induced attack was staring him in the face. The only thing stopping the impatient man's face from being horribly mutilated was Red, his leg propping up the other man's chin. There was a deathly silence. Red kicked the foolish person away. The man whimpered in fear.

"Do you want to win?" Red asked the simple question with a voice that drew any attention not focused on him. Two dozen pairs of eyes met his.

"I can help you win. All you have to do is follow my orders. As long as you do so, there's no way you can lose. You can get out of here safely." The fear in all of those eyes began to transform into slight hope. Red smirked. He had thrown the bait, and it had hooked all of the fish successfully. These humans were so simple; so dictated by their own, selfish nature.

"I feel as if it is my duty to inform you, however, that if you refuse my position of command, then you will have taken the path to complete and utter failure. If you dare attempt to betray me or not follow my orders, then you will have placed yourself in a position than none would willingly accept. Now, tell me your answer!" There was some muttering and glances at the general crowd. Red growled under his breath. These idiots would waste all of the pre-game time if no one was willing to answer. However, a teenaged voice rang out.

"I'll do it!" Red looked at the source. A boy, who seemed to be at roughly the same age as Red, if not slightly younger, had spoken up. He wore a black and gold cap turned backwards over his rough, spiky black hair. His golden eyes glittered with an excitement quite unbecoming of the quandary that everyone should have been in. The boy stepped forcefully on his skateboard, sending it flying through the air. He began to walk towards Red, catching the transportation device as it flipped down. The boy put on his goggles and held out his hand.

"I'm Ethan, nice ta' meetcha!" Red stared at the extended limb in disgust; there was no way he would touch someone such as that. Thankfully, he was spared from having to make an action when another voice piped up, and another, and another, until he had the entire body of the occupants of the glass cage under his command. Red noticed that the last one to join seemed to pass a suspicious glance at him. He looked familiar, close to how Gary Oak had, but with a vastly different countenance and aura about him. Red looked ahead. There was a lot of talking and planning to do. His eyes gleamed with the insane light that only geniuses and madmen are able to display. Red smirked. Perhaps he was a bit of both.

* * *

Yellow was terrified. She had been sucked into this horrible world again! Not only that, but she was surrounded by solid, polished metal on all sides. She generally didn't have to much repulsion to tight spaces, but the proximity to two dozen others mad Yellow feel claustrophobic. People were panicking and screaming everywhere, running around, getting into fights. Yellow had curled up into a ball and was silently waiting for it to end. Why was this happening to her? Yellow began sobbing. Suddenly, a voice broke out.

"Silence, you pathetic fools!" The action in the cage began to die down. A young girl with blackish, almost blue hair had spoken. With a sneer on her face, she stepped up to the nearest competitor, a rowdy man generally causing chaos, and touched him. For a second, nothing happened, and then the man was flung back against the metal wall with force. The room was pin-drop silent. The girl's sneer grew worse.

"I am Dawn Berlitz, the heir to the Berlitz family. You commoners must, naturally, follow my every command. After all, the weak need to be governed by the strong." A roar of anger was heard, and a strongly built woman charged towards the heiress. The linear momentum of the attacker was harshly rerouted when she was thrown against the ceiling. With a sickening crunch, the woman began to feel the effects of gravity once again, and fell down. Dawn Berlitz hadn't even moved. A smarter opponent raised his voice.

"I know you have some telekinetic power now!" As the second aggressor began to sprint, he stopped when Berlitz's gaze intensified.

"Stop, mongrel." The two simple words seemed to have cemented themselves inside of the opponent's brain. The man stopped.

"Now! Lie down!" The man did just that, seemingly willingly. The heiress walked up slowly and began to step all over him.

"Ha! This is your rightful place!" There was silence.

"Does anyone else have complaints? I assure you that I can lead this team to victory. Hunting down dogs is a rather tiresome pastime, but if I am forced to partake, I will not lose. Who will stand with me?" Immediately, the majority of the room accepted the girl's authority. Whatever divine she had, it was immensely powerful to both affect a physical body and the mental state of the two unconscious aggressors. It would be wise to team up, especially if she had a strategy. Being the heiress to the Berlitz family helped, too. Yellow decided to join as well. Unity would be an important quality if she wanted her team to win.

"Now! The plan I have is this. We have an ambush team, an attacking team, a safety team, and a strategy team. The last one will consist of me and three other guards. We will direct and send information to all teams through these," Dawn motioned to a briefcase which contained small radios, "and move them. The attacking team will chase those dogs to an ambush team, where we can freeze them. The safety teams will find sector orbs. We have a heavy advantage by being the hunters; I expect this game to be a short one." The other competitors cheered. A mean-looking redheaded boy behind the heiress looked directly at Yellow and grinned cruelly. His silver-gray eyes pierced into hers. Yellow shivered.

"I've decided. You there, you'll assist me on the strategy team." Dawn pointed to the redhead, who shifted his gaze to the heiress and stared in complete apathy. The girl split up the remaining tasks, and no one seemed to complain. Yellow had been given the objective of finding the sector orb within sector 7. She sighed. Yellow couldn't wait to go back to the real world.

* * *

Dawn Berlitz was having the time of her life. She was doing what she loved: commanding the mongrels that should be honored to even look at her. Thanks to the ploy that she had pulled off, everyone was convinced that she possessed some god-like divine. Dawn smirked. Her brains were her true power, after all. These simple-minded fools were far too easily manipulated. After splitting up all of the teams, Dawn laid out a basic attack plan. She had already calculated the probability of which path the opponents would take and had prepared ambushes there. Attackers were waiting near the center of the major sectors. It was all too easy. Dawn expected the game to fall right into her hands within minutes. Hunting down her opposition was so fitting.

"I HOPE YOU'RE ALL PREPARED! AS OF NOW, I RAI, AS THE GAME HOST, PROCLAIM THE GAME AS STARTED!" Pieces of the metal room suddenly vanished.

"Go! Go! Remember the plan!" Dawn set up her system and began to watch the events unfold. She had assigned competitors to teams based on the advantages and weaknesses of their divine. Her speed ambush teams had almost reached their areas already. Sure enough, true to her calculations, one member of the prey team was caught within minutes. Two more were ambushed, and then another two were successfully routed by an attacker. Within the next ten minutes, three sector orbs had been found. Dawn smirked. As expected. Regularly, the radio buzzed and voices flowed through. However, a sudden call came.

"Enemy approaching from front and flanks, surrounded, what do we do? We ca…" Static pierced the radio's transmission. Dawn frowned. What had happened? Her calculations had been correct.

"Team down!"

"We're being attacked from behind!"

"The enemy's here!" simultaneously, emergency calls were transmitted. Screams and the sound of weapons piercing bodies came soon after. What was going on? Her plan was flawless… no, there were three precise ways that it could be broken. The enemy was currently exploiting the most efficient one. The enemy was skilled. However, there was an easy counter attack. Dawn summoned up a visual of the battlefields. She relayed the new orders. Looks like this could turn out to be mildly interesting.

* * *

Blue was covered in mud. He had been assigned to enter a suspicious-looking swamp in order to get behind the enemy. Then, he was to free his team member who was frozen just in front of enemy lines. He was not enjoying this game so far. Although he hadn't been frozen, Blue had been forced to trek across a desert, through a snow-covered valley, and then into this tropical rainforest. The terrains were ridiculous! He had spotted numerous ambushes exactly where Fear had said they would be, and saw members of his team willingly get frozen. Whatever plan Fear had cooked up, Blue didn't want to get frozen. Those screams sounded pretty genuine to him. He could see the general direction that the plan was operating to, but he had no idea how it would work.

"Charge!" An ambush situated exactly where Fear had predicted once again. Blue lifted up his hand and sent kinetic energy into the air. Thousands of wind blades destroyed the opposition, mutilating the front sides of their bodies. Fear had told him that the enemy should be switching positions around now. This was the only chance he'd get to sneak in front of the enemy lines and unfreeze his team member. Blue felt the change in climate as he passed through a sector boundary. He was now standing on levitating rocks with no stable ground to be found. If his information was correct, the frozen member was very close. Blue pushed energy into his feet and jumped. He hid behind a large rock as an enemy team zoomed by, most likely changing positions. He rocketed himself to the general vicinity of his target. Almost immediately, Blue saw the yellow-and-black striped cap. He was just about to leave when he heard a noise behind him. An opponent, a girl with long blonde hair was there. Blue instinctively got into a defensive position, but the girl was obviously not a fighter. Both of them locked eyes and had a silent agreement to ignore each other. Blue continued towards Ethan. He lightly touched the other teenager.

"Thanks, man!" Ethan clapped Blue on the back.

"This is no time to talk. We need to go. Now."

"Okay, okay, chill. I got it." Ethan jumped on his ever-present skateboard while Blue pushed more energy into his legs. The duo rushed towards the metal cage. They spotted bloody corpses everywhere. There seemed to have been many failed attacks on the metal cage. As expected, opponents began attacking. The enemy commander, whoever it was, had seen through their plan. Blue smiled slightly at the shocked expressions on the hunters' faces as their attacks simply vanished on contact.

"Ha! Suck it!" Ethan was obviously enjoying himself. The two members of the prey had temporary immunity. They crashed into the metal cage and quickly entered.

"All, right, where's the fla…" Two figures barred their path. Some black haired girl with an obnoxious sneer fixed on her face accompanied by a red-haired boy.

"I see that you're here. Welcome to our base. Now, before we freeze you, would you mind answering some questions?" Blue pondered on that. The plan had been to quickly strike and capture the hunters' flag, but that was now out of the question. The girl was attempting to stall, most likely waiting for their own attack to land. However, stalling worked both ways. If he prevented what looked like the leader of the hunters from fighting, that would be a huge advantage for his own team. Also, the way the two carried themselves right in front of an enemy indicated that they possessed at least one some sort of a long-ranged divine between the two of them. Blue nodded.

"Good. So, please explain, why didn't our attacks work on you two?" Blue elbowed Ethan and signaled that he would do the talking.

"I had just unfrozen my partner here, so we had immunity." The girl seemed to have similar thoughts concerning her redheaded companion.

"How did you unfreeze him with only one person?"

"He had put his hand on his chest before frozen. Because he is still a member of our team, he counts as one touch. Add that with mine, and you have the valid number of touches."

"Clever. How did you know and outmaneuver my positions and attacks? Did you hack into my system?"

"No. Our leader predicted every move that you would make." Blue smirked slightly. As much as he doubted Fear, this girl needed to be put in her place.

"Humph. Well, I suppose you think you've won. However, right about now, my attackers should be cleaning up the last of you mongrels. I managed to hack into your network and learned all of your positions. Now, with this, the game is over." The girl extended her arm and touched her palm to Blue's chest. He felt all of his muscles contract, and he felt as if he was on fire.

"AAAAAAH!" He screamed as loud as he could. A small part of his brain heard Ethan screaming beside him. The pain began to recede, and Blue found that he was unable to move.

"And with this, I call checkmate." Blue expected the words to come from the girl, but she looked just as surprised as the rest of them. The two hunters whirled around. There, standing next the hunters' flag, was none other than Fear himself.

"H-how?" The girl stuttered incoherently. The redhead threw out a hand, and the air responded. Lines of razor-sharp wind arced towards Fear. However, he touched the flag right before contact and everything vanished.

"AND, WE HAVE A WINNER! I, RAI OF THE DARK, PROCLAIM THE PREY AS THE WINNERS OF THIS GAME! I THANK YOU ALL FOR PLAYING!" Blue felt the shadows consume him and dissolve his consciousness. He blacked out.

* * *

Giovanni Rocketto examined the details of the attacks. There was only one person who would be bold enough and have the skills to pull this off. He growled. That blasted kid! He always came and destroyed Team Rocket's plans! Giovanni picked up his phone and dialed the simple code to reach his secretary.

"Call XXXXXXXXX. I'm going to schedule a meeting. I swear, I will crush that insect once and for all, or my name is not Rocketto!" Giovanni slammed the phone into its holder in frustration. Suddenly, an idea wormed its way into his head. If it worked… that would be… delicious. A cruel smirk adorning his face, Giovanni began doing what he did best: planning a crime like no other.

* * *

The shadow looked on in amusement. Fear had sacrificed his comrades, allowed them to be frozen, in order to attain victory. He had manipulated their minds so much that the poor sacrifices had thought they were operating of their own free will! The shadow laughed, delighted. This was so entertaining; it decided to make it even better! Snapping its fingers, Rai was summoned.

"What do you wish for?" The shadow spoke his commands. Rai's mouth lifted at the edges, revealing pointed fangs.

"That will be most… entertaining indeed." Rai vanished. The shadow felt anticipation for the next game. This was the best idea that it ever had. It would kill all of the contestants, and even perhaps the other humans before the game was forcibly finished. After all, humans are merely pawns, or game pieces, meant to be used. The shadow laughed, the noise cutting through the darkness of its surroundings. This was all for the sake of its entertainment.

* * *

Well, that's the fifth chapter done! I'm attempting to make chapter lengths longer. This one is over 5,000 words long! Please continue to read and review!


	7. VI: Defiance of the Unnatural Existence

**VI: Defiance of the Unnatural Existence**

_The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion._

_-Albert Camus_

* * *

Giovanni had done it. He had devised an operation so brilliant that it would revolutionize the world as much as he did through the M2 experiment. This new plan would position him in the best place possible. Team Rocket would finally move, revealing itself to the world once again. After the neo-rocket faction had broken off, the team's power had diminished. All thanks to that boy. However, Giovanni had gained control of all divisions again. He would strike. Giovanni pressed a button to signal his secretary.

"Begin Operation Armageddon. We will proceed immediately. Contact Cyrus, Archie, and Maxie. We will swing our combined might against the legends. We will defy them!" Giovanni began to chuckle. His plan was so simple, and yet so effective. He would soon rule the world. As long as he kept steady, there was no way his plan could go wrong. The only thing he had to fear was fear itself.

* * *

Leaf was relatively content. She had a normal, worry-free day for the first time in what felt like ages. There were no creepy voice, no psychopathic masked villain, and no twisted games to take part in. She felt normal again! Leaf had just waved a good-bye to Chris, and was walking up the large, spiral staircase in the Greenrose mansion. Reaching her room and changing into more casual clothes, she lied down on her bed, lost in thought. The experiences of her last few days would never leave her. Feeling slightly apprehensive, Leaf sat up. Maybe some shopping would cheer her up. Gathering all of the necessary supplies, Leaf headed out of the large front door.

"Clefairy?" A small, pink creature waddled up to Leaf. She smiled.

"I'm going shopping. Do you want to come with me?" The pokémon nodded happily, and jumped into her arms. Giggling slightly, Leaf continued out to the mall. She entered one of the stores which she liked better than others. There were always a lot of cute clothes here. Leaf looked at rack after rack, sometimes pausing to ask the clefairy's opinion. Occasionally, she spotted a product that she liked, and bought it. The bags began to pile up on her arms, and so Leaf decided to take a break. It had already been over an hour since she began! She walked over to a nearby seat in a store and sat down. Leaf noticed that she was in a rather empty area of the mall. Had she even been there before? Oh well, it didn't matter. Leaf spent a blissful 10 minutes resting her limbs and playing with Cleff. She heard a quiet whistling noise occasionally. Leaf dismissed the thoughts and felt serenity overcome her. However, that peace was broken when a gunshot rang out.

"Stop! Nobody move! We're taking ever this place!" Leaf quickly hid behind a rack of clothing in the secluded corner. Looks like her break had more than one use, then.

"_Cleff, use moonlight!_" Leaf whispered the command quietly to her faithful pokémon. A strange, mystical aura surrounded the small creature as she began to chant. Momentarily, a soft, gentle light blanketed Leaf and the clefairy. However, to an outsider, they were gone in the next instant. Leaf watched silently as men and women wearing black uniforms bustled around, checking obvious hiding locations for any stray shoppers. Leaf saw a large, red 'R' boldly worn on each uniform. The criminals were far too numerous and organized for this to be a small, spur-of-the-moment attack. They were being coordinated.

"What? Is there someone there?" A female voice rang out, startlingly close to where Leaf was hidden. A black-furred canine creature was growling next to a woman in black, staring straight at her. It took Leaf all of her willpower to stay still and not scream. The woman slowly, almost tauntingly, made her way towards the location. Cleff's moonlight illusion would hide them from sight, but any other means of detection were fair game. The canine had obviously sniffed them out, and if the woman touched them, they were dead meat. Leaf began to form a plan in her head. Once the woman uncovered her, she could steal the criminal's costume and disguise herself as one of them. Cleff could keep the dog occupied until Leaf was finished. She would be able to infiltrate the enemy ranks and destroy them from the inside this way. Leaf tensed her muscles as the woman stretched out her hand. There was a one foot gap… six inches… barely a few centimeters… just as Leaf was about to lunge, a voice called out of nowhere.

"What are you doing? The order to regroup already came!" Another criminal wearing the 'R' motioned for the woman to follow him. The female thug walked out and had to literally drag her pokémon away. The male criminal began to leave the room as well. Leaf breathed a sigh of relief.

"That was pretty close. Be more careful." Leaf's head snapped up. The man was facing the other direction, but his head was twisted slightly to the left and his visible eye was staring straight behind him. Briefly, it glowed red, and then disappeared. The man left, a smirk visible on his face.

* * *

In the ocean, there is an uninhabited island that few know about. It has harsh, rocky terrain with a couple feet of snow perpetually existing upon it. There are no animals or vegetation living on that island. However, even so, the term 'uninhabited' is now outdated. A large group of scientists could be seen in the entranceway to a large building constructed right into the face of the rock. These researchers and their families mingled, worked, and had lived in the harsh climate of the island for a few years now. All for the sake of one experiment; for scientific advancement. The chatting was momentarily paused when a loud noise was heard. A helicopter had appeared out of the sky. A professional-looking man, along with a typical, bumbling scientist, appeared in the entranceway and began a brisk walk to a nearby helipad. The roar of the rotor-induced wind was deafening as the aircraft landed on the designated pad. Another professional-looking man exited the contraption and shook the hands of his two-man welcome party.

"How are you? How was the trip?" All three men knew that both of the others couldn't care less about the feelings of the contemporaries greeting them, but the rules of proper business etiquette had to be followed.

"Fine on both accounts. It's a pleasure to see you."

"Oh, no, the pleasure is all mine." At this point, the visitor decided that the pleasantries were over. His previously amiable tone hardened into the harsh, corporate businessman that he truly was.

"Where is it?" The personality change infected the other two, who dropped their masks promptly.

"Follow me." The scientist led the way. Entering the rock, the trio was greeted by a massive lobby. Deciding that pleasing the client would not include a tour of the facilities, the scientist led the other two into a large, metal elevator. As they all got in and the doors closed, the scientist couldn't help but make a few introductions to the area.

"This contraption actually goes down hundreds of feet, well below sea-level!" The elevator suddenly dropped down, and stopped within seconds. "It is a little… abrupt." Seeing the stormy look on his client's face, the scientist chuckled nervously and resumed walking.

After a few minutes, the group reached a checkpoint of sorts. Armed guards did a heavy search of all three people, and cleared them for access. The large twin doors swung open without even a squeak.

"I would like to ask you to put on these suits. They will protect you from any dangerous radiation that occurs down here." The three put on the specified clothing and entered. The doors swung closed, as silently as they had opened. In this final room, deep in the heart of the lab, a single, large glass cylinder was erected within the darkness of its surroundings. Inside of the glowing liquid was a human sized shape. Walking closer, the businessman could see it was some mutated cat-human hybrid. He took a large breath.

"This is…" The scientist and his companion smiled. That was a common reaction once it was seen for the first time.

"Yes. That is the supreme clone of the legendary, evasive Mew. It is the epitome of science. It is Mewtwo!" The creature's eyes snapped open as if it had heard its name being called. The businessman took a step back.

"Is this supposed to happen?" The creature began to rip off the various cords and wires attached to it. An unseen force put a large crack into the glass. The red, merciless eyes of the creature were locked onto the three humans standing before it.

"That's impossible! It shouldn't have any mental capacity yet!" All three members of the group began to backtrack quickly.

"_You dirty, despicable humans. Where is the one called Giovanni? I will crush him, as I will do with all humans!_" With a crash, the glass cylinder exploded, sending shrapnel and solution everywhere. The creature, Mewtwo, stepped out. It glanced around.

"_I will destroy this island. I will destroy all of you. You will not continue to act as you wish!_" Mewtwo's eyes glowed with a blinding red-purple light. The scientist felt a scream rise into his throat as light flooded every portion of his vision…

That day, a shockwave of pure force was felt around the world. The island exploded into energy brighter than a supernova. The ocean around it boiled and instantly vaporized. The pure force behind the attack was enough to power the world for two decades. No one alive except for two people and one cloned hybrid creature knew about the existence of that island now. It had dutifully resumed its status of uninhabited.

* * *

After hacking into the more secretive areas of Rocketto Industries' databases, Red had uncovered a few gems of knowledge. The first was an encrypted file titled 'M2 Project'. Saving that for later examination, Red had moved on to the second file. In it, he had decoded the plan to take over the nearby mall. Red had left immediately, wearing utterly casual clothing and bringing Pika along after some deliberation. He had blended right in to the rest of the shoppers; he had spotted several Rocket agents mingling among the crowd. Red had discreetly followed one into a secluded area and Pika had knocked him unconscious. After donning the criminal's suit, Red had waited for the signal to begin. He had ignored the initial whistling noises, seeing that they were far too conspicuous. If the Rockets actually thought that anyone who would be tripped up such obvious bait would be able to pose any sort of threat to their organization, then Red would lose all faith in them. Red had then walked along until he heard some canine barking. Spotting a grunt walking up to the spot where someone was hiding (and badly too, if the lack of shadow was an indication), Red had saved the idiot's skin. Before heading down to where the free grunts would meet, he glanced back once with his contact glowing in his left eye, and spoke. Hopefully, that would intimidate the momentarily free shopper enough to prevent them from moving. Pika jumped onto his shoulder.

"Grunt! Hustle!" A higher-ranking Rocket yelled at Red and slapped him. Red just continued walking; figuring that grunt treatment in criminal organizations was far from ideal. He slid into the mass of Rockets awaiting a speech. Red saw the fearful faces of the hostages through the glass window of another room. Suddenly, a hushed silence spread across the crowd. Red turned his head just in time to see an oily man in an expensive business suit walking up to greet the Rockets. He was flanked by a Beedrill and a Nidoqueen.

"Hello, loyal followers of Team Rocket! I am Giovanni Rocketto, leader of the team! I congratulate you all for succeeding in capturing this mall!" All of the Rockets cheered. Red continued to stare at the man, examining him keenly. Pika growled.

"I am here to announce to you all that beginning today, starting now, Team Rocket will be allying itself with the teams Aqua, Magma, and Galactic!" A silence eroded the previous jubilant mood felt by the general mass. Rockets began to look at each other and whisper. What was going on? Red lifted his eyebrows in confusion. He had to admit, this was not something that he had predicted. As far as he knew, all of the major criminal 'teams' had mutual animosity between them, especially Magma and Aqua. However, as the truth of the impact that the alliance would have dawned, Red's eyes widened. He had calculated all general results of the alliance, and none of them were a good prospect for public peace and safety. Looking back at Giovanni, he noticed three other men join him. One was wearing sailor-like attire, another was wearing red and black themed clothing, and the last one had donned futuristic garments. Hundreds of other people began to flood the ground area. The four teams truly had begun to cooperate.

"Now, we join in the G.R.A.M. Alliance! This mall will be the neutral territory in which we will sign the proper documents!" Red watched as a long piece of paper was passed around to each of the criminal masterminds. When who he assumed was the Galactic Commander, the last one, signed the document, Red watched the paper go into an envelope. He glanced around. Pika was whimpering to his left, but that was the only break to the general scene of grunts and higher-ranking officers watching the proceedings with poorly concealed apprehension. Red snorted. These idiotic criminals weren't even able to trust their commander. He wondered why he was even wasting his time! Red was about to turn back and watch the formation of the Teams G.R.A.M. when a female grunt caught his eye. He looked. She had long, brown hair and seemed extraordinarily pretty and refined compared to the trash surrounding her. There was no way she was part of any underworld organization, and he doubted that she could fool anyone for long. The girl briefly turned to look around, and Red fought the urge to strangle the stupid female. Leaf Greenrose must have been the one who he had saved. The fool had still come down! Other grunts, particularly the male variety, had already begun to notice her. He was just about to prevent her from making a scene, when Giovanni Rocketto's voice interrupted him.

"The G.R.A.M. Alliance is office…" BOOM! A deafening explosion shook the building. Red tackled Leaf into the ground. She was vital to his plan, after all. Who had attacked? The police wouldn't, considering the large number of hostages tucked into the nearby room. Red saw a floating object with a blue glow hovering in the smoke. Suddenly, a voice penetrated his skull.

"_WHERE IS THE ONE NAMED GIOVANNI ROCKETTO? I WILL CRUSH HIM!_" The telepathically transmitted thoughts were delivered with so much force that they almost drove him into insanity. Red could hear screams of pain all around him. Because he had covered Leaf, he had absorbed most of the power. He looked at her and she stared back in fright. Red growled under his breath. She was such an inconvenience!

"_SHOW ME GIOVANNI ROCKETTO! OR I WILL CRUSH YOU ALL!_" Another blast destroyed a large portion of the mall. The creature began to descend. Red saw a cat-like humanoid wearing armor. Its eyes glowed with a ferocious light. Red needed to stall.

"Pika, I'm sorry, but I have to ask you something." Red looked around and spotted the untouched fire system on the unbroken portion of the ceiling.

"Shock the fire system and stay directly in front of it. Make sure you run a current through your body. Once the creature appears to be preparing a counter-attack, flee to some cover outside near the entrance. I'll meet you there in a little bit." The small rodent nodded in confirmation, and sped off to begin the plan. Red scooped up Leaf and began running.

"W-what's going on?" The girl was obviously scared. Red would have preferred to reveal her stupidity to her, but that wouldn't have helped in the situation. Instead, he tried the comforting approach.

"Don't worry; you're going to be all right. I'll keep you safe." He dashed into the room which contained the hostages and began to free all of them. Just as planned, they were in shock. He would easily be able to bend them to his will.

"I am Fear! I am the one who saved you! Let that be known!" The newly freed hostages looked at him in awe.

"What?!" Leaf seemed to have snapped out of her daze at the mention of 'Fear'. She looked at him confusedly. Quickly, Red turned away and ran back towards the main entrance to the mall.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Screams of pain and zapping noises filled the air. Red looked back into the main area. Rockets, Aquas, Magmas, and Galactics were strewn on the wet floor. Some looked relatively normal, while others were horribly disfigured. Red stepped over the swollen, bleeding corpse of an Aqua grunt and slowly approached the body of the creature. Pika's shock seemed to have momentarily disabled it. Red was only a few meters away when blue energy began to flicker around it once again. Red activated his contact light.

"I am Fear! If you dare attempt to harm me again, I will no longer hold back! I will destroy you!" The creature stared at him. Telepathic screeches grounded into his eardrums, but Red prevented himself from wincing. Any display of weakness would ruin his plan. The creature transmitted a coherent sentence.

"_Did you really think that a simple bluff would work against me?_" Red widened his eyes in surprised. He had calculated everything perfectly, and it had all gone how it should have. Pika's electricity would not only stun the creature, but would also interfere in its basic mental tasks. Yet, this creature which should have accepted his bluff easily had dismantled his plan with one sentence.

"_I see now. What a clever, multi-faceted strategy. Not only does the innocent crowd go unhurt and the trash get destroyed, but it also progresses your own plan. You accounted for everything, including your friend's safety. You cannot be Giovanni Rocketto._" Red stared into the creature's eyes. He saw the same pain, sorrow, loneliness, and defiance in him reflected back. For a moment, the two beings held a mutual understanding. Then, the moment broken, the armored feline turned away.

"_I will be searching for Giovanni Rocketto. I can tell that you have a similar goal. As our ambitions converge, I will tell you: I am Mewtwo, the creature that should not exist. I will reside in the unknown dungeon. If you wish for my help, I will grant it to you once you reach me._" With those words, Mewtwo vanished.

After quickly cleaning up the corpses and straightening up the unconscious survivors (finding no trace of any of the team commanders in either group), Red ran back to the place where he had stashed his casual clothes. He pulled out his mask and cape right as he heard police, ambulance, and fire truck sirens wailing outside. Putting on the accessories, Red walked outside into the warm, sunny air. He saw a crowd along with the expected law enforcement members, Leaf included among the numbers. With a quick shout by the leader, dozens of armed personnel aimed their firearms at him.

"I am Fear! I have apprehended those responsible for this atrocious event and rescued the innocent who are free from any harm! I brought down justice on those who deserved it and saved those who did not! Beware me or love me, that is your choice! However, remember this: no man can escape Fear!" Red clicked his tongue. A shadow darted out of a nearby tree and filled its surroundings with harsh, inescapable light. When it faded away, Red had vanished into thin air.

* * *

Chris was walking in the city park. It was near sunset now, and the dying sun gave a beautiful golden glow to her surroundings. She strolled over to the central fountain, where she saw Gary and Blue. Walking up to them, she waved a hello, to which the twins nodded back at.

"So, what's up?" Gary and Blue exchanged looks. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, Gary spoke up.

"You've met Fear before, haven't you?" Chris took a step back.

"W-what are you talking about?" She laughed nervously. How had they found out?

"Cut the crap, Chris. We all know that you have, and that you've participated in a game as well." This time it was Blue who did the talking. Chris's eyes widened.

"How did you know about that game?" Blue sighed, as if things were going exactly the way in which he had anticipated them.

"I know because I've been dragged into one too."

"What?! I never saw you, though!" At this point, Gary interjected a sentence.

"Blue told me that there's been more than one game." Both he and Chris looked to Blue for confirmation. The third teenager sighed and nodded. He spoke up.

"The truth is, I saw you and Leaf right before and directly after the first game had occurred. I was concealed behind the tree line. I heard you two talk about some voice and fear, so I assumed that you had been pulled into a game after I was too." Chris looked at him in surprise.

"You were there? Wow. Did you participate in the mirror game, too?" Blue looked confused.

"Mirrors? There was nothing to do with mirrors in the game I played in." Blue looked at her as if she was joking. Gary seemed to have been thinking.

"Hey guys… if you two had really played different games, and if Blue's at least was as complex as he'd told me, then wouldn't the person who's controlling this have to be loaded with cash?" Chris started. In the heat of the battle, she hadn't really thought about that. Whoever the voice was, they had to have funds from somewhere.

"It _could_ be some kind of divine," Blue said, "but I've never seen anything like it before." Chris and Gary nodded. After all, one of the first things they had been taught about divine was that they were various varieties of the same concept. All divine could either create or emit a material quantity, control some quantity, or do both of the aforementioned tasks. The only way the game boards could be divine was if they were illusions, but the complexity was far too great.

"Why don't we call Leaf and head over to her home. I think we have a lot of discussing to do." The other two nodded, and the trio began to head back out of the park. Briefly, Chris glanced back at the red sun, wondering if it had seen the truth of this affair.

* * *

Yellow was crying softly. The older, tougher kids in the establishment had beaten her up with rods and pipes. She felt blood all over her. Suppressing her natural instinct to sob, Yellow cleaned her wounds with a piece of old clothing and some water that she'd gotten from the scummy bathrooms. It had happened for the third time this week. The main instigators had ganged up on her while she was in a deserted area near the outskirts of the city, waiting for her friend. She'd protested at first, saying that she had an appointment to keep, but the aggressors had lassoed her and dragged her away. They had then proceeded to take wooden rods and metal pipes and repeatedly slam them against her. A few other children, hearing the commotion, had come to cheer her attackers on. The chant of 'DEMON, DEMON, DEMON' became painfully loud after some time. About ten minutes later, the kids seemed to have gotten bored. They spit on her face, threw dirt on her motionless body, and then proceeded to strip her of any clothing that they could take off without touching her skin. _Demons don't need clothes_, they had said. Yellow had begun to stumble back to her small room, dirty, bleeding, and nearly naked, and had begun to cry. The wounds were so major that combined with her mental instability prevented her power from healing them. She would have probably collapsed in an unused alley and stayed like that if she hadn't thought of her new friend. She would miss their appointment, but she would make sure that she lived. She dragged herself through the streets before finally reaching the orphanage. Everyone had ignored her when she entered. She had then begun to treat the wounds. Slowly, painfully, Yellow returned to normal. She calmed down and felt her divine healing her. Yellow switched on the old, outdated television set that every room had. Turning to a news channel, her eyes widened at the reporter's words.

"Yes, we have confirmed that the criminal called 'Fear' was the one that did this." Yellow edged closer to the television. Fear had done something?

"Nearly 50 criminal corpses have been found in the building, while over 170 criminal survivors have been detained. Hundreds of hostages were saved by the enigma known as Fear. We have a short clip here: '_I am Fear! I have apprehended those responsible for this atrocious event and rescued the innocent who are free from any harm! I brought down justice on those who deserved it and saved those who did not! Beware me or love me, that is your choice! However, remember this: no man can escape Fear!_' Just like in the previous appearance, Fear disappeared in a flash of light immediately after making a declaration. Some are saying that the massive death toll dictates the need for arrest. However, the vast majority of the public look at the safe hostages and the fact that all of the casualties were criminals and continue to support Fear. Next: What is the mystery be…" Yellow turned the television off. She thought. The one person who had treated her kindly was the same one who massacred 50 people. However, Fear managed to deliver justice and save the hostages at the same time. Yellow felt pathetic and useless compared to Fear. Yellow decided. From that day forth, she would serve Fear. She would help the enigma succeed. Yellow smiled. She had a new purpose in life.

* * *

Dawn Berlitz stared at her state-of-the-art hologram device while walking. The news about this 'Fear' had been interesting. She had no idea what to think of it. Fear was a criminal, and that was a fact that could not be refuted. However, had those actions been justified by the rescue of innocent people? Dawn shook her head. She had something more important to think about right now. She reached a large metal door. The slabs of divine-reinforced metal parted as she approached. The sounds of high-speed razors could be heard inside. Dawn stepped into the chamber which was obviously decorated to be a training area. A sweaty boy with long, red hair in a ponytail and piercing silver eyes stared at her. Behind him, masses of practice dummies lay completely annihilated. A dozen more were destroyed as Dawn watched.

"What do you want?" The rude and abrupt sentence had flown from the boy's lips before Dawn could even attempt to make a polite greeting. She smirked. Playing like that was completely fine with her too.

"Well, _Silver_," the boy flinched at the nickname and then glared harder, "I was wondering if you'd seen the news. Fear, I believe? I was wondering if we could track him down." The boy stared at her face, looking for any indication of falsehood.

"_We_? I recall saying that I work alone." Waving his hand behind him, another dozen dummies were cut into hundreds of pieces.

"I need your skills for this operation, while you need my finances and brains. It's just a trade. That's something that someone like you can respect, right?" If looks could kill, Dawn would have died a hundred times over. The boy seemed to think. Dawn waited. She considered herself to be a patient person, and it was uncomfortable to others when she stared at them for minutes on end. Dawn could see the effects beginning to work on Silver, but the boy stayed firm. Finally, he grunted.

"Fine. What's this plan?" Dawn smiled widely. She always what she wanted eventually.

"I'll give you the details somewhere more… secure." Silver nodded in affirmation. Brushing of some sweat from his forehead, he walked past the last remaining dummy. Suddenly, he twisted around, and in one fluid motion, pressed his palm against the dummy's chest. Nothing happened for a second, but then the doll flew backwards. Just before it impacted the wall, Silver did some pulling motion. Each limb of the mannequin was shot in a separate direction. Seemingly satisfied, the teenager walked behind the heiress to listen to this… _plan_. Dawn couldn't help but feel excited. She would trap Fear like a rat, and deliver the humiliation that she had received during the last game. This was so much fun!

* * *

Mount Coronet was a dangerous place. It was the tallest peak in the world, with Mount Silver close behind. Home to a large number of dangerous species of pokémon, the deeper passageways of the mountain were generally avoided. No man or woman had ever made it to the top and lived to tell the tale. Leading researchers had hypothesized that they had only found a minute fraction of species living on and in the mountain. The cold, harsh climate combined with its peculiar magnetic force made the mountain an undesirable place to be in. However, on this peak, there was a location unknown to humankind. Even pokémon have a natural instinct of avoiding that location. On the summit of the mountain, there lay the fabled Spear Pillar. Ruins of what seemed to be an incredible building stood there. However, the ruins were not the key point of this location. Spear Pillar was said to be the Gateway to the Legends. At the base of the pillar, a soft, melodious tune played from a flute. Steps shimmered, connecting two worlds together. If one had ascended those steps, they would have, for a moment, seen the regal, majestic silhouette of a being far superior to them. And then, nothingness. Thus, Spear Pillar was kept a secret; turned into a tale, a myth, it lasted only in children's books. But what none realize is that if one ascends those final, shimmering steps, and faces the creator of the world, they would see. They would see the truth reflected in the creator's all-knowing eyes. The truth is sometimes better not told.

* * *

The shadow was more excited than it had ever been in eternity. This new creation of the humans was indescribably powerful, with a mind that could shake the foundation of the world if needed. The shadow screeched with laughter; it would give anything to see the one that should not exist and the one who defied its existence team up. That would be most entertaining indeed. This Fear, the one who defied his existence, would bring the world down. The shadow twisted its tentacles around and shifted its worm-like body. It couldn't wait to see the reaction of the creator to this new development. The shadow thought. Why didn't it think of that? Revenge against the creator; it would destroy the world together with anyone who shared its ambitions. It would no longer stay imprisoned within the collapsing pseudo-world that contained it now. The world was in for a change. The shadow's scarlet eyes glowed in the darkness, creating red shadows as bloody and dark as the future the world was about to experience.

* * *

That's Chapter 6 completed! Thank you, NecropolisZero, for continuing to review!

In response to Drayllien and the guest reviewer, the answer is this: Yellow's power requires direct skin contact to work. The child of the Viridian Forest was not thought to be blessed; in fact, the general viewpoint was that the child was a vampire-like creature who drained the life force of other creatures in order to sustain itself. This is why she was avoided. However, because the power requires skin contact, force through weapons is a viable method for attacking, and that's how Yellow's tormentors did it. Sorry if that was confusing! I was planning to introduce that later, but this works too. After all, I'm really not sure how many people read this, anyways!

If you thought that some scenes in the chapter seemed kind of shippy (particularly burningleaf), then it really shouldn't account for much. I haven't made up any definite pairings yet, if any. I may take reviews into account.

I will answer any and all questions in this last section of the new chapter from now on.

Finally, please continue to read and review! Chapter 7 will hopefully be put soon!


	8. VII: Glimpses of the Past

**VII: Glimpses of the Past**

_In this bright future you can't forget your past_

_-Bob Marley_

* * *

_It was a cold but beautiful day, with snow swirling around in the crisp air. Everywhere, people were bundled in garments. There seemed to be a festive, joyful mood being carried through the air. Walking a bit, he reached a long bridge. A sharp pain shot through his head. He remembered this bridge. Something bad had happened near here. He heard laughter nearby. Looking through the slight snowfall, he saw a small group of smiling, laughing people. For some reason, his heart throbbed. He felt unbearably sad for a moment, but then the group turned and looked at him. There were two males and two females, all with faces that he vaguely recognized. Names rose to the tip of his tongue but refused to proceed further than that. He slowly walked towards them, and they began laughing along with him, as if including him in their circle of friendship. He rubbed his head, and a pang of desire shot through his chest. He suddenly felt as if he was walking on thin ice. This way of life was too delicate. The group seemed to be leaving, waving to his if expecting to see him later. Purely on gut instinct, he knew that something was going to happen. He ran after the group, into the forest at the other end of the bridge. The cold gray monotone of the sky was broken by dancing colors. His heart rising into his throat, he dashed through the dead, cold vegetation, somehow knowing where he wanted to go. He stopped in a small clearing. A large, wooden cabin was burning with evil, blue flames, both hot and cold at the same time. Fearing the worst, he sprinted forwards. The flames were far too dangerous for him to proceed any further. A scream rang through the air. A wall of the cabin collapsed, allowing him to see inside. Four bodies were burning alive, their screams drilling into his ears. He watched as the bodies twisted around, as their features become black and charred. He saw their bodies drop down, the life vacating the still corpses. The flames slowly began to die out. He saw four bodies of people who had been his friends, who had laughed, smiled, and cried with him; people who had accepted him. A voice, carried by the wind, slowly spoke to him._

_ "Do not forget; you are alone, and will always be. I will see to that…" He cried, his sobs escalating into screams. He threw himself over the corpses, flames flickering in the background. His screams continued._

Red woke up shivering. His partner looked at him in concern.

"Pika?"

"I'm fine. Thanks, though." Red got out of his bed and walked over to his small bathroom, glancing at the clock on the way. The digital display read _2:47_. He walked to the sink and paused momentarily. Splashing his face with water, Red looked at his face. Staring through the cracks and stains in his old mirror and into his reddish-brown eyes, Red saw a haunted look in them. He hadn't had a memory of those times for quite a while. Pushing his dark, wet bangs out of the way, Red walked over to his couch and sat down. Putting his face into his hands, he trembled slightly.

"Pikapipika…" His loyal companion rubbed his cheek against the back of Red's hand. Red smiled forlornly. He had thought that he'd moved on. Shaking away the offending imaginings, Red stood up. Delving back into the world of the unconscious would be a waste now that he was fully functioning. Grabbing his normal clothes, Red got ready for the day. He couldn't afford to falter now.

* * *

Anyone who had any kind of connection the police force, and even those who didn't, knew of Lance Wataru. He was one of the most prominent agents in the Kanto Elite Justice Force (K.E.J.F.) and had never failed an assignment, no matter how difficult. He was handsome in a macho kind of way, with his long, dark red hair and the regal air about him. Being one of few successful dragon tamers and possessing an unusually powerful and versatile divine combined with his charisma allowed him to climb the ranks of the K.E.J.F. at record-setting speeds. He was only his early thirties, but had been a top-class agent for years. Lance, all-in-all, was a genius, respected by all who met him. However, even with those titles and labels, Lance was not happy. He may have been a morning person if he'd chosen any other occupation, but working at 3:00 A.M. for nearly two weeks in a row tended to make the smallest things grind on peoples' nerves. As such, Lance was trying very hard to not punch his co-worker who was humming the most annoying tune in existence. Lance took a deep breath. He spoke as politely as he was able to manage under the conditions.

"Looker. Shut up. Now." When Lance talked, people tended to listen. He guessed that it had something to do with his fearsome eyes. Unfortunately, Looker was one of the few who didn't care. Looker himself was a top-class investigator, and treated Lance as more of an equal then a superior like so many others.

"Shut up? But I wasn't even saying anything?" Looker stared at Lance with an obviously fake look of innocence. Lance sighed, and then karate-chopped the other man on his head.

"OWWW!" The investigator's yell seemed to be genuine, and Lance flinched when he realized that he'd put just _slightly_ more power into his attack than he'd meant to. Rubbing his sore head, the other man looked up.

"What's gotten you so pissed anyways? The fact that we were called here at 3 o' clock in the morning? Well, buddy, I can tell you that I'm just as pissed at it as you are. No need practice your dragon-taming techniques on me!" Lance glared. Any semblance of an apology disappeared from his thoughts in an instant. Before he could make a scathing reply, the duo arrived at the determined location. A large metal door slid open, and the two walked into a room surrounded completely with monitors. Lance frowned. The scale of this briefing was far too large and discrete for it to be some small-time operation. He noticed Looker adopt the same merciless look in his eyes as when he began to track his prey. Lance looked at the largest monitor in the front just as all of the screens flickered on. A voice spoke out.

"Agent Wataru, Agent Looker. It's a pleasure." Both of the elites remained silent, stony-faced. Lance waited for their contact to get to the point. Whoever had brought them out here would not have done so merely to exchange pleasantries. Actually, on second thought, Looker just may pull something like that one day. Pushing that thought out of the way, Lance heard the voice speak again.

"We have called you here in relation to the appearance of the wanted criminal 'Fear'. In just a few days, Fear managed to shake the roots of society. He has amassed public support even after proclaiming and admitting to mass genocide, blurring the lines between justice and evil. We are putting out faith into you two. Figure out the identity of this criminal and apprehend whoever it is. Use any means." With this, the monitors seemed to power off. Lanced exchanged looks with his partner.

"…I guess it could be interesting…" Looker hesitantly said. Lance just turned away and walked out of the room. He had an investigation to begin.

* * *

The world was dark when the boy had come to the city's park. His unruly black hair rustled in the wind as he flew through the air using his skateboard. The boy, also known to some by his cover name, Ethan, had just a little time to enjoy himself. Pushing his contraption forwards, he felt the cold, crisp air strike his face. Passing a streetlight, the boy opened his eyes. They were a bright, glittering gold. The boy observed a few bird flutter away, calmly gliding with the wind.

"What do you want?" The cool question floated through the air. A second figure stepped into the rays of a streetlight, completely covered with various articles of clothing. Gold closed his eyes. He knew that his momentary peace would not last for long.

"Agent Gold, we have the details of your new assignment for you. Please report to the nearest facility to procure them." By the time Gold had opened his eyes, the figure was gone. Gold sighed. He had hoped for just a little more time. Then again, he always did. The boy's previously lazy eyes gained a cold, hardened look to them. He was on the case.

As he walked into a completely plain-looking clothing store, Gold looked around. He noticed a few girls giggling flirtatiously in his direction, to which a sent a wink at. Ignoring the continued noises, he walked to the clerk. The woman appeared to be an average, middle-aged worker, with a dull, melancholy look to her. She spoke in a monotone.

"Hello sir how may I help you." Straight and to the point. Gold sighed and moved a hand through his already messy hair, creating more chaos in the locks in the process. They really needed to assign new people as entrance guards.

"I'd like a shoe for my hands with a pair of shirts to protect my eyes." Gold held back the urge to slap himself and whoever had created that stupid passcode. Apparently the logic had been that no one was idiotic enough to actually say that to a stranger. The clerk's dull countenance was broken when she smirked slightly. Gold seethed. He was sure that the woman lived to see agents make a fool out of themselves.

"What color would you like it in." Now came the part to reveal his identity. Really, Gold doubted that this exchange would be able to be more obvious. The entire dialogue made him wince, and the clerk sucked at acting.

"Gold." The clerk lifted her eyebrow slightly. It seems as if his identity was decently well-known. The woman punched something into the large computer sitting on the counter.

"Have a nice day sir." The sheer dullness of that phrase nearly hurt Gold physically. He walked over to the dressing rooms. Entering the large facilities, he noticed another man walking out. Passing the man by, Gold instinctively knew that the other man was an agent. Pushing the thought aside, he walked to the end of the hallway and entered the stall designated for handicapped shoppers. Closing the stall door quietly, Gold entered the crevice that had opened. Once he slid into the small gap, it was as if he had crossed between worlds. Whereas the store was fairly quiet, the peace punctured by the occasional bout of laughter, this new high-tech area was alive with commotion. People were scrambling from one place to another and back again. Gold saw researchers in lab coats, agents with their cool aura surrounding themselves, and even the occasional politician who screamed for money. Ignoring the mayhem, Gold walked away from the closing crevice and towards a polished wooden door stuck in a corner of the main room. Avoiding the elevators and the flood of people, Gold reached his destination after a many collisions and a few short arguments. He grasped the golden doorknob and paused. After mentally preparing himself, he twisted the object and opened.

"Ah. Agent Gold. Finally decided to show up?" A male voice spoke up. Gold looked into the shadows of the small room. A figure, barely distinguishable from its surroundings, was the one who had spoken. Gold made a grimace, and then fixed his features into a poker face. As much as he disliked the other man, they were still his superior.

"I am sorry, sir. I received word that my operation had been designated only a few minutes ago. I came as fast as I could."

"THAT ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH!" Gold kept his emotionless mask on. This is the reason why he preferred to decline the company of the other man. Seemingly calm at first, the man held an ocean of anger which he was unafraid to unleash on an innocent agent. Unfortunately, Gold had somehow gotten on his bad side and had remained there ever since. The other man took every opportunity he could get to bully and belittle Gold. The agent sighed in his head. He made a mental note to stop sighing too much.

"I have no need for excuses."

"I am deeply sorry, sir." Gold bowed slightly. He could feel the anger level of the other man rise significantly. No doubt his actions had been taken as taunts by his hotheaded superior. However, both of the occupants of the small chamber knew the mutual dislike that existed between the two, and both were eager to end the audience as soon as possible.

"The basis of your operation are this: you must discover the true identity of the criminal named 'Fear' and report back the actions that Fear takes once you do. Do not apprehend the criminal immediately; our higher-ups would like to detain any contacts as well. However, in cases of extreme emergency, potential danger, or risk of having the criminal escape, you are allowed to forcefully capture the criminal. You will be the undercover operator behind Agent Wataru's public investigation. As a cover, you will be under the alias Ethan Heart. Your cover persona's life's full details are here," the shadowed figure shook a thick envelope which Gold assumed was filled with papers, "but the basics are that you are a relatively ordinary boy who is attending Odnetnin Academy." Gold started slightly, shocked.

"Odnetnin Academy?" The shadowed figure began trembling.

"SIR!" Gold rolled his eyes.

"Odnetnin Academy, sir? Are you mentioning the rich-kid school, sir?" The figure nodded, satisfied. Gold snatched the envelope containing memories of a life that he'd never had and quickly exited the room. Opening the envelope, Gold noticed several pictures stuffed inside along with pages of text. It was most likely for him to get used to the school. They seemed to have been taken fairly recently. Glancing at one, he saw several famous people like Leaf Greenrose, the heir to the Greenrose family; Gary Oak, grandson of the esteemed Professor Samuel G. Oak; and Crystal Waterglass, the prominent young genius and member of the Greenrose branch family. Gold snorted. It really was a rich kid's school. He doubted that he'd fit in there. Gold was about to return the pictures to the envelope when a figure at the edge of the photograph caught his eye. Looking closer, Gold's jaw dropped. A teenaged boy with long, black hair and piercing eyes was boring his stare into the camera. Gold couldn't believe it. It couldn't be.

"No way," he breathed, "_Red?_"

* * *

City orphans are generally considered to be the vermin of vermin. They were unwanted things, unaccepted even by orphanages. They were dirty, infectious beings who held no morals and could barely, if even, be classified as of the human species. In fact, many thought of them as lesser than insects. There were many reasons why city orphans existed; uncaring parents, mutated features, and strange divines being just a few. There had been many pushes to eradicate the filth from the city streets, but they rarely passed. On the rare occasion of a sweeping, the city orphans would hide in all of the places they knew about and which the civilized people didn't. Most never even batted an eye after one of those massacres took place. City orphans had to take to theft and other illegal acts in order to survive. The law and society, the very things that had driven them to that point, were punishing them for attempting to live under the conditions which they had been given. Statistically, less than one percent of city orphans below the age of five would reach the age of 13. All in all, growing up as a city orphan was practically impossible. However, even in the midst of this horrible life, the city orphans are able to find hidden gems, things that they would never be able to obtain if they had been born to a normal family. They found friendships that were stronger than familial relationships; companions that would aid them through situations that even ones of their own blood wouldn't have dared to do. Many lives that otherwise would not have met were brought together, bonded forevermore. That was how on one cold, rainy day 11 years ago two raven haired children had met each other, one having piercing, intelligent brownish-red eyes and the other one possessing his mischievous glittering gold ones.

_A young boy, appearing to be just about four years of age, lay, cold on the ground, weeping. His stomach growled, signifying his hunger. The boy began to cry louder. Footsteps echoed from around the bend of the alley that the boy was in. Suddenly on full alert, the child pressed his back against the wall of the narrow pathway and stifled his hiccups. Hoping that the person causing the footsteps had gone away, the boy began to relax. Suddenly, a figure appeared at the end of the street. The young boy began to sprint in the opposite direction. However, one word compelled him to stop._

_ "Food." The young boy screeched to a halt. Slowly turning around, he noticed the precious item held in the other figure's arms, protected like a newborn child. Glancing at his potential benefactor, the small boy noticed long, messy raven black hair, similar to his own. He walked closer. A small ray of sunshine penetrated the cloud cover and shone itself on the child. His golden eyes could clearly be seen. The boy reached forward and grabbed a small chunk of bread. He stared, suspicious at first, but his stomach overcame his acquired paranoia. The figure watched the young boy wolf down the precious food. More sunlight began to seep through the gray clouds, and a five-year-old's silhouette was discernible in place of the figure. The other boy stepped forwards. His reddish-brown eyes bore into his younger counterpart's golden ones, the gaze holding for a few seconds. Finally, the golden eyed one returned to his food, the temptation being too strong to care about the other boy for now. The other boy's grimy face was expressionless. He spoke up as he saw the younger child finish his brief meal._

_ "What is your name?" The golden eyed one looked up in surprise. He had never thought about that. Now that the question had been asked, he had no answer ready._

_ "I duhnt hahv one." The younger boy's slurred accent indicted his poor schooling. The older child stared at the younger one critically. The corners of his mouth lifted up slightly._

_ "I'll tell you what. Why don't we team up? We can make a good team." The younger boy's eyes shone. He had just been offered the chance for companionship! To the lonely child, that was like a miracle itself had come true just for him. He nodded vigorously. The older boy smiled slightly._

_ "That's good. But I can't have a partner with no name. Why don't I call you Gold, like your eyes?" The younger child, newly named Gold, was even happier. Now he had a name!_

_ "Den I whill cal yoo Bwown." The older boy wrinkled his nose, but whether it was at the young boy's suggestion or at the accent, or even a combination of the two, was unknown._

_ "Rather than Brown, I'd prefer to be called another name." The younger boy seemed disappointed momentarily, but then went into a thinking mode._

_ "Why nut Red, den?" The older boy, now named Red, smiled truly. He patted the younger boy's head._

_ "Red and Gold, huh? We'll be the unstoppable duo!" The two new friends laughed with each other for the first time, beginning a friendship that would last for years to come. However, nothing lasts forever._

* * *

Leaf was pondering on the past events. She'd gotten up far too early to prepare for the day, but had been unable to fall back asleep. So, she had thought. The excitement at the mall had mostly diminished from her mind, though ironically not from the media and the general populace, except for one little but. Fear. Leaf was beginning to have mixed feelings about the enigma, which scared her. The criminal was a hardened murder who had slaughtered dozens of Rocketto workers in cold blood. However, the way he had saved her and the rest of the civilians was actually really brave, and kind of cool…

"AAGH!" Leaf yelled out slightly to relieve her frustration and spun around on her swiveling chair. She stared to the other end of her large bedroom, attempting to clear her thoughts. Needless to say, she failed. Fear continued to crop up in her thoughts, no matter which way she directed them. What scared Leaf was the amount of times that she had caught herself viewing the criminal in a positive light. Fear had proven that he was able to kill and manipulate others without so much as flinching. She knew that she was most likely falling into another one of his traps as well. However, she couldn't control her mind.

"Are you all right, Lady Leaf?" A servant seemed to have heard her exclamation. Leaf sighed. She actually had been pretty loud.

"Yes, I'm fine. I'm sorry. You may go." The servant seemed to have walked away, dismissed. Leaf leaned back on her chair. Rubbing her forehead, she decided to watch some television. Touching her hand to a hologram, she turned the instrument on. She was greeted with a loud commentator. Wincing at the sudden volume, Leaf muted the program and watched intently. Apparently the famous K.E.J.F. member Agent Lance Wataru had been assigned to take care of finding Fear. Leaf frowned. That would make her plans of revenge much more difficult. However, now that she thought about it, did she really want to continue her plan? Her mixed feelings didn't particularly lead her to the revenge route any longer. Leaf leaned back in her chair, being careful not to fall over. Looking up towards the ceiling, she thought. What did she want? As she pondered, she realized it.

"That's it… that's what I'll do…" she slowly whispered. Leaf decided then. She would find out who Fear was, and what the true intent behind his actions was. Once she did that, she would judge him. Leaf smiled. There was no more confusion now. She knew what she had to do.

* * *

Silver was training yet again. The annoying rich girl had finally stopped pestering him, allowing some time for him to think about her proposal. He threw out his hand, and blades of wind shredded the practice dummies into pieces. He paused. He was getting better at using his divine. This high-tech training room seemed to be working. Silver switched his body to autopilot and resumed thinking. He thought back to when he had heard about the rich girl's proposal.

_"Essentially, I'm telling you that we should find this Fear and control whoever it is. That's the basis of the plan." Silver lifted an eyebrow. If this Fear was the same one who had destroyed their joint strategy during the game, then he doubted any plan that they could concoct would be able to manipulate the criminal._

_ "I know that you're dubious, but I have confidence in my brains. I will be able to find some weakness in Fear, one that's impossible to escape. I know I'll be able to. However, I need brawns to complement my brains. You'll be able to fit that role, and you're pretty intelligent as far as I can tell. Together, once we control Fear, we can jump to greater heights!" Silver saw a slightly insane glint in the girl's eyes. However, it wasn't too bad of a plan. Far too simple, sure, but they could work on the details once he accepted. If he accepted. He still had his goal. However, with a superpower like Fear under his thumb, his ambition would be closer than ever. The positives vastly outnumbered the negatives, the only point in the latter set being that Silver preferred to operate alone. It would be foolish not to accept this proposal._

_ "Well? What do you say?" Silver looked at the girl's face which revealed poorly masked anticipation. She attempted to rearrange her features into a picture of innocence, but Silver knew here far too well from the short time that he had been around her to be fooled. He would have to watch his back even more carefully from this point forwards._

_ "Yes." The simple word accompanied with a slight nod made the girl almost jump with excitement. Silver closed his eyes. The girl wasn't one to easily reveal her emotions and she knew that Silver wouldn't be affected by any fake displays. Whatever he had just agreed to, it had truly made her excited. Silver felt a shiver run down his spine. He hoped that he had made the correct decision._

Snapping out of his memories, Silver looked around the training room. The area was a scene of complete and utter chaos. Disemboweled dummies lay everywhere among pieces of debris from the wall. It appeared that he'd gotten to… emotional. Silver shook his head. The carnage was a small look at his future. He would have to get used to it. Silver walked up to a bench on the side wall where he'd kept his supplies. Picking up a water bottle and twisting open the cap, Silver wondered what Fear was plotting at this moment. Was the criminal creating another elaborate strategy or simply blending into the general populace, acting like an ordinary citizen? Silver took a swig of water. Fear had nothing directly to do with his goal. There was no point in thinking about the criminal.

"Oh Silver, are you there?" At the first indication of who the obnoxiously, fake sweet voice belonged to, Silver spat out the remaining water in his mouth. The large door of the training room opened, revealing the mistress of the house in her full entirety. The girl's voice changed tone drastically.

"Practicing again? Ha! Get some practice for your brain. Rest some!" Silver closed his eyes and tried to endure this punishment. He had never been the best at interacting with others in the first place, and people like the girl before him who didn't hesitate to speak were his natural enemy. Silver mentally prepared himself for hours of constant chatter. Maybe accepting this proposal was actually not that bright of an idea. Silver almost lost himself multiple times, but his one burning desire kept his frustration at bay. He would find that man and would kill him. He would see the look on Giovanni Rocketto's face when he died. He would murder the traitor, the criminal, the one who had ruined the lives of countless others, both innocent and corrupted. He would be the one to kill his very own father.

* * *

There is a cave deep in the wilderness, unvisited and unexplored by all during the entirety of the human race. The cave was only inhabited by the strongest of pokémon; the weak ones were quickly disposed of within weeks at a maximum. Even those with the strongest divine and the most powerful pokémon never dared to step foot near that area of the wilderness. Tauros fled when they came close; machamp stopped, and even the mightiest of dragonite flew away. Thus, no human had, wisely, gone close enough to the area to discover the cave. Only by theories and indirect research were scientists able to form the conclusion that there was a cave filled with immensely powerful pokémon there. So, this cave with no information relating to it was called the Cerulean Cave for its close proximity to Cerulean City, and eventually nicknamed the Unknown Dungeon. Researchers had assumed that they had essentially figured out everything about the area.

Researcher Bill was one of the many examining the peculiarities of the dungeon. He had months of hard data backing his hypothesis, but so did many other prominent researchers in the field. The dungeon was an enigma, full of mysteries. Data collected was able to fully support two different, completely contradictory statements. In fact, the vast number of theories backed by data and yet obviously incorrect had led to the term 'like dungeon data', meaning unreliable. Bill sighed. When he was called from his nice home on the Cerulean Cape to help research on this phenomenon, he had thought it would be a relatively simple task. However, he couldn't have been more wrong. Bill had barely gotten six hours of sleep this _week_. Bill stretched in his chair and yawned. He'd love to take a nice nap at around now.

"Hey, what's that? Hey! What's happening?" The true panic in his co-worker's voice caused Bill to shoot out of his chair and run over to the other scientist.

"What happened?" The other researcher looked over.

"My data suddenly began to go haywire!" Bill quickly glanced at one of the many monitors on his co-worker's desk. The numerically represented data was oscillating wildly. Just as Bill was about to reply, more yells of confusion and anguish began to originate.

"What's this?"

"Hey! My computer's glitching!"

"What's going on!"

After each yell, more began to take their places. Bill looked around wildly. What was going on, indeed? Had some strange element from the Unknown Dungeon affected the laboratory situated close to it? Suddenly, a screech filled the air. Bill and all of the other researchers clapped their hands over their ears. Bill was the first to notice the peculiarity.

"GET DOWN!" His sudden call to action jolted many and others instinctually spread themselves on the hard, tiled floor of the establishment. All of the reinforced glass windows of the laboratory shattered at once. As the shrapnel rained down on the intellectual workers, Bill looked out of the window. A bright, bluish-purple streak of light was flying incredibly close to the ground and had just passed overhead. However, that wasn't the bad part. It was heading straight for the Unknown Dungeon. Bill got up and lurched forwards just as a large explosion took place with such force that the strong building began to crumble. Getting out his binoculars to examine the phenomenon (after all, when would he have the chance to document this again), Bill stared intently at the center of the explosion. A shadowed figure seemed to shoot a beam of light at the lab. Bill's consciousness began to fade. Just before the darkness enveloped his vision, he was just able to make out distinctly feline features on a humanoid creature. A new boss was in town.

* * *

The shadow was racing through its dark world. It was going to rebel, fight against the monstrosity that had expelled it so long ago. It would destroy the entity and create its own world, a better world for it. The shadow spread out it's tattered, tentacle-like wings. With a push, it rocketed forwards, flying past chunks of floating rocks and dead vegetation. It avoided the large, gravity-less waterfall impeding its path. Opening its armored mouth, it shot a beam of dark energy at the space in front of it. Momentarily, a bright ray of light shone through, blinding the entire shadowed world. Then, it vanished, taking the shadow with it. The renegade had escaped the world that it had been confined to. It had instigated the war between legends.

* * *

That's the 7th chapter finished. Please tell me if you have any suggestions or advice as I will attempt to incorporate them into future chapters. Please read and review!


	9. VIII: Wretched Reality

**VIII: Wretched ****Reality**

_Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one._

_-Albert Einstein_

* * *

Those who lived near the rocky, icy giant called Mount Coronet were frightened, to say the least. Storms were not uncommon in that part of the region, as the mountain itself created a climate that could not be compared to anywhere else. The mountain's peculiar magnetic field created certain charges throughout the mountain, accounting for the frequent thunderstorms as well as the multitude of researchers attracted to its entirety. However, the mountain was currently undergoing a weather pattern which had never been seen before. Harsh, unrelenting snowfall was punctured by periods of extreme drought. More than often, chunks of energized material would come flying out of the clouds, leaving a large crater at the spot that it had impacted. Needless to say, Mount Coronet was not a good place to be currently. Many had already evacuated while other chose to remain where they had spent the vast majority of their lives at. However, for Professor D. P. Rowan, his work came before his comfort. He had come to research the drastic climate fluctuation.

"Professor Rowan! Do you need anything else?" Rowan smiled slightly. His aide, Lucas, had walked up to him. The boy was a young teenager with short, black hair and a friendly face. He was a kind boy, and Rowan was happy for his assistance.

"Not anything specific at the moment. It would be helpful for you to continue collecting data." The aged man's deep voice cut through the howling wind and reached the boy's ears. Smiling, the teenager turned away and left. Rowan continued examining the snowy terrain. His white hair fluttering with the wind, Rowan bent down to examine a disturbance in the pure white blanket.

"Professor! Come look at this!" Lucas looked at him and motioned towards a sizzling rock, very much at contrast with the surrounding blanket of snow. Rowan straightened up and walked over, fighting the winds buffeting him even at the base of the mountain. Lucas pointed to a spot in the snow. It barely took a second for Rowan to spot the object that had his aide so interested.

"What in the world?" The rock was obviously not ordinary. It pulsed with a bluish light, sending rays of shining energy shooting into the reflective ice. Rowan put on a pair of anti-radioactive gloves and gingerly picked the object up. Almost immediately, the stone flashed with a sharp, bright light and blinded all who were in its vicinity.

"AAAAH!" Rowan dropped the rock as a sharp jolt of pain shot through his entire body. His muscles seized up and momentarily began to spasm.

"Professor! Are you all right!" Lucas's cry was distinguishable even through the now gale-force wind and Rowan's own pain. With great effort, the aged intellectual regained his bodily functions and stopped his momentary bout of madness. The wind began to die down. What had just happened?

"Are you okay?" Lucas had reached the old man and was looking at him on concern. Rowan dusted off his clothes and stood up shakily.

"I-I'm fine. Thank you for your concern." Rowan examined the stone one last time before putting it into an anti-radioactivity sealed bag. The rock seemed to hold some unknown power, and chances are that it's related to the weather phenomena that are occurring presently. Rowan allowed a slight smile to grace his lips. Things were progressing.

* * *

Sometimes, Gold hated his job. He was forced to tail any person deemed even slightly suspicious by his higher-ups, only to be told that they'd been cleared of suspicion hours earlier. He was now just relaxing outside in the city park. His official cover wouldn't take effect until a few days later, so he had to occupy himself with menial tasks in the meantime. Gold took a swig of his soda. At least he had some down time. He had a feeling that this assignment was going to be pretty difficult. However, he had to see if the boy in the photograph was actually Red. He certainly did have the same expression, demeanor, and those same eyes, but Gold had learned from his years as an agent. He needed evidence.

"ARGH! I can't take any more of this!" Gold exclaimed. He sat down on a nearby bench and threw up his arms. The entirety of this new operation seemed far too sketchy to him. Gold moved a hand through his hair and sighed. Out of all of the jobs that he could have been assigned, hunting down the evasive Fear was not on his top priority. However, the criminal definitely needed to be brought to justice. The fact that he could look into the entire Red thing was silver lining.

Gold got up and began to slowly ride on his skateboard. Agent Wataru was going to be on the case as well. Did his superiors really consider him to be trustable with a case of that magnitude? It was strange, really; his superiors had only brought him in for him to act as bait and a source of menial labor, but he had instead almost transformed the entire system to accept a wider range of potential agents. However, as the system had gradually improved, Gold's faith in it had dropped. The entire thing was corrupt, held together only by various political entities attempting to gain power through any means possible. That was probably why Gold had transferred to the shadow section: there, no one save major leaders would be able to touch him and his idealistic system. Gold had grown tired of it all. In fact, if he was truly honest with himself, he actually sympathized with Fear's apparent feelings and beliefs.

There was also the issue of Odentnin Academy. The school was, to say the least, a prestigious and expensive school, for which you needed intelligence, skill, wealth, and contacts to get into and survive in. That was one of the things that had initially confused his judgment about the identity of the Red look-alike. Although Red certainly had the first quality in heaps and bounds, with the second not trailing to far behind, the last two areas were crucial things that he lacked. Being a city orphan, Red had absolutely no family wealth and famous associates to work with, thus making it nearly impossible to enter the school. Gold sighed. He'd figure it out when he met the character. For now, he would have to simply plan out his every move in the academy. If he slipped up even once, there would be no going back.

* * *

Gary was extremely worried about his gramps. The old man had been shutting himself in his lab for quite a while, now, and it was beginning to reach a dangerous point. Gary questioned if the man was even eating anymore. He knew, of course, that it was better not to impede the course of the work of the old genius, and that he was most likely simply inventing a new life-altering gadget, but Gary worried nonetheless. Samuel Oak was no longer as young as he used to be, and couldn't continue living in the same conditions that he had gotten used to. Gary decided that he should at least go and check on the old man.

Gary walked to the entrance to the lab. The door was a large, beautiful wooden piece, carved with intricate designs. Gary put his hand on the golden doorknob, hesitating slightly. In general, the old professor heavily disliked anyone coming into and intruding his laboratory. Gary took a deep breath. He would have to do this. He twisted the piece of metal which he was clutching, and stepped into the huge chamber.

"Who is it?" The professor's weary voice was discernible even over the sounds of machinery working in the background. Gary looked around the large area and barely managed to locate his grandfather from among the various inventions and machines littering the room.

"It's me, Gramps. Gary." He saw the old man flinch slightly at that response. Gary frowned. That was an unusual and even slightly hurtful reaction. It was something that his gramps would never do consciously and with his own will. There were only a limited number of explanations for that, but Gary feared the worst: his grandfather was at the end of his mental rope. The teenager walked up to the other man slowly and cautiously, and put a hand on the other's shoulder. Samuel Oak flinched horribly. He turned to look at his grandson, fear apparent in his wide eyes.

"They… they're combining the M2 Project with the new operation!" The man was almost becoming delirious. Gary had no clue what the man was saying. It most likely had a direct correlation with the man's lack of sleep.

"Calm down, Gramps. Just get some rest." Gary soothed the old man, rubbing his back. The professor looked at his grandson like a caged animal.

"You don't understand…!" The old man's scream was cut off when he fainted out of exhaustion. Gary sighed. Sometimes it was a hassle having a genius for a grandfather. At least his gramps was more sensible than some other professors that he knew.

A blinking noise caught Gary's attention. One of Professor Oak's many monitors had lit up, a message filling up the display. Gary was about to ignore it, but something made his curiosity get the better of him. He casually glanced at the screen, unprepared for what he would see. As he began to comprehend the message, Gary's jaw slackened and his entire body went limp. There was no way. That's impossible. It couldn't be… the message was from Giovanni Rocketto, threatening to set his organization against gramps. However, that wasn't the what Gary cared about. Punching in a few, quick commands, he started as new information popped up onto the monitor's display. Proudly shown on the pixelated screen were the many names of Rocketto's sponsors. One of them stood out from the rest. It couldn't be…

* * *

Chris was feeling pretty good. She had actually rested well for the past couple of days after pooling information with the Oak twins. She felt a whole lot better. Of course, the peace was momentarily punctured by panic when the mall at which Leaf was at was attacked, but that situation had been cleared up fairly quickly. All in all, Chris was content for now.

Currently, she was heading towards the main mansion of the Greenrose Estate to meet Leaf for a casual chat and grouping. As she walked down the perfect, polished stone path, she admired the pristine state that the garden and its various decorations had been kept in. The grass was neatly trimmed, framed with large, exquisite statues. Chris could never forget the wealth and power of the Greenrose family simply by taking a quick look at the gardens, which she supposed was the entire point of the design. The one who had created the 'new', so to speak, family status quo was Leaf's own father, the famous Edgar Greenrose. He had returned to the estate just a few hours ago after months on some business trips. Chris was sure that Leaf was excited.

Chris realized that she had reached the front entrance as she was pondering in her thoughts. The doors were already opened; Leaf was obviously expecting her. In fact, Chris was able to spot her friend among the numerous staff members working in the main hall.

"Hi Chris!" The brunette waved at her. Chris smiled and waved back. It seemed as if her prediction was correct: Leaf was in a far more excited state than she had been in the past few days. She ran down to meet her friend, bumping into many other people as she did so. Chris giggled. It was funny to see the recently morose girl transform into her real self so quickly. Leaf adored her father, who, even with his busy schedule, always had time for his precious daughter.

As she walked into the large mansion, Chris looked around. It wasn't just Leaf who was excited. The entire household seemed livelier, as if rejuvenated by the return of the head of the house. Although the last time Chris had met the famous man was a few years ago, she still remembered the confidence and charisma that oozed out of him. It was a display of how strong Chris and Leaf's friendship was as the latter girl willingly allowed Chris to intrude upon the joyous occasion.

Chris walked up the large central staircase and into one of many spacious hallways. Leaf, who was walking ahead of her, occasionally sped up and then slowed down. The erratic pace that she was setting was another indicator of her excitement. Chris laughed.

"What's wrong?" Chris smiled and shook her head at the question. Leaf seemed confused, but let it go.

Finally, the duo arrived at Leaf's room. No matter how many times she went there, Chris always had to look around in awe. The luxurious chamber was not only gigantic, but it was filled with the newest, most expensive accessories. However, Chris's gawking was cut short when she noticed a third figure in the room. Leaf continued talking to her, oblivious. The third person noticed them as well.

"Ah. You have finally arrived." Chris suddenly realized who this person was. Leaf cried out and lurched forward. The figure wrapped her in a hug.

"Dad!" Edgar Greenrose smiled at his daughter. Chris realized that her previous thoughts were completely wrong; the man had a presence unmatched by any other, and even she had forgotten the full force of it.

"And who is this?" Chris started. The man had directed the question towards her. Standing up straight, Chris tried to look as proper as she could in her casual clothing.

"Crystal Waterglass, sir. It's an honor to meet you." For a moment, the man frowned. Chris thought that she had offended him somehow. However, he smiled the next moment. Chris mentally shook her head. She was getting far too nervous.

"No need to be so formal. Especially since you are my daughter's best friend." Chris eased up slightly. She hadn't realized just how stiff her posture had been. The man extended his hand. Chris grabbed it and shook it.

"Well, I'll leave you two to yourselves for now." The man got up and began to walk out. Leaf waved at him and closed to door once he had left. Chris opened her mouth to speak when her cellphone started to ring. She motioned to Leaf.

"Hello? This is Chris."

"This is Gary." Chris's interest was piqued immediately. The fact that Gary had called her probably meant that he had found some more clues.

"I have something to share."

"Okay, one minute. Leaf's here too." Chris put the device onto speakerphone and set it down. Leaf moved closer.

"Well then… shall we talk?"

* * *

Yellow was incredibly nervous. She had finally acquired a job, and it was a well-paying one too, at least by her standards. She was to assist the daughter of one of the famous families. Obviously, as they were elites, Yellow knew that the job would be a difficult one. However, she needed both the monetary support and the temporary escape that the position provided.

Yellow saw the large mansion in which she was to work appear in the distance. She caught her breath. The residence was huge! Even taking out the area of the estate, the mansion itself seemed to stretch on forever! Of course, that could have simply been Yellow's own brain twisting the facts. Yellow wondered who exactly had hired her to work here. After all, there should be plenty of far more qualified workers willing to work there for the same pay.

While she was immersed in her thoughts, Yellow arrived at the front gates of the property. The butterflies in her stomach were reaching a point where they became almost physically painful. Yellow tried to calm herself down. She almost succeeded, too. However, that didn't stop her from shrieking as the giant metal gates in front of her swung open by themselves.

"Miss Yellow? Your escort is here." A young man who appeared to be in his early thirties appeared, wearing a crisp, black uniform. Both his physical appearance and countenance combined to create a picturesque image of a classical butler. Yellow felt her nervousness return tenfold. Obviously, the general lifestyle around this place was far more formal than what she had expected if an escort was required simply for the menial task of taking her, a worker, to the main building. Yellow felt her feeble imaginings of a comfortable job vanish as she stepped into a polished, black car. The vehicle began speeding up the driveway which Yellow now realized was far longer than what she had previously assumed.

Yellow prepared herself mentally as the car neared the mansion a few minutes later. Her temporary chauffeur stopped the vehicle and motioned for her to exit. As Yellow got out, she noticed that there were a dozen or so other girls there, most appearing to be close to her age. They were most likely potential workers, similar to Yellow herself. However, these thoughts were interrupted as the mansion's colossal doors swung open silently. All noise and nervous chatter died down and disappeared completely. Yellow saw another girl in the doorway, this time well-dressed in expensive clothes and carrying an aura of confidence that few have. A sinking feeling settled into Yellow's stomach. She knew this girl, and she was bad news.

"Welcome to the Berlitz Estate! You all have been accepted as workers on this property. However, you will answer to me and me alone! I hope all of us can get along!" The silence was deafening. Although the girl (who could easily be identified as Dawn Berlitz, the family's heiress) had spoken in seemingly genuine words, the entire speech had carried an ominous feeling.

"Silver, please show them to the proper places." The redhead appeared, still wearing his scowl. Yellow was frozen. These two people were definitely not good company. In the previous game, they had brought an entire room full of powerful divine holders to their knees. The terrifying part was that they had used a psychological trick rather than pure force. That made them even more dangerous.

The boy, Silver, seemed to have noticed her stare and turned to meet it. Yellow flinched slightly and tried to break her gaze but found that she unable to do so. To her horror, slight recognition sparked in the boy's eyes. Yellow knew that she was trapped. She couldn't get out now. As she continued staring, the corners of Silver's mouth rose.

* * *

Lance was frustrated, a feeling that seemed to perpetually haunt him these days. After receiving the mission to apprehend Fear, he had gotten the side task of investigating Team Rocket as well. Apparently, his higher-ups had classified information that compelled them to believe that Fear was in cahoots with the criminal organization. That's why he found himself in his current position, dressed up as a Rocket grunt in one of the organization's branches. Lance knew that they were operating somewhere in central Sinnoh, but was clueless to the exact position.

"Okay grunts! Hustle to your positions! NOW!" With a few shrieks, Lance's contemporaries scurried off to do their jobs. However, the one in question simply stood still. As the cavern that the grunts were in quickly emptied out, Lance's temporary grunt commander noticed his immobility.

"GRUNT! GET TO WORK!" It was obvious that grunts were nearly on the same level of trash in the Rocket hierarchy, if not lower. The commander seemed less angry and more irritated, as if one of his pokémon had refused to demonstrate some technique. Lance sighed. Why did anyone sign up only to be treated nearly as bad as city orphans?

The Rocket seemed to have run out of patience, and Lance's sigh served only to infuriate him further. A light began shining in the Rocket's hand, obviously some kind of divine attack ready to be unleashed at the errant grunt. However, Lance was ready to move, too.

"If I had apologized for this, I would've been lying." Silently, Lance silently killed the other man with a quick burst of divine. Stealing the other man's uniform, he donned the clothing. Lance started to head out of the cavern, but remembered something.

"Oh yeah. I almost forgot. Dragonair, make him disappear." He released one of his pokémon. The sleek, reptilian creature wrapped itself around the corpse and ignited into a myriad of blue flames. The body disintegrated in the harsh heat. Lance returned his faithful pokémon and walked away, in the direction of a mass of important rocket officials.

As he approached the crowd, Lance activated the device placed on his arm. It mimicked a starmie's camouflage ability. Obviously, the Rocket technology would detect him if he became completely invisible. However, simply disguising his face to appear as the Rocket which he had just killed would be virtually undetectable. Lance shook his head to clear up his thoughts as he reached a pair of metal doors imbedded in the cave passageway. A young Rocket approached him.

"Identification, please?" Lance held out the I.D. card which he had stolen. The Rocket swiped it through some device and handed it back after a green light and a beep of confirmation. The metal doors, which Lance now saw were about a full meter thick, slid open. Another entering Rocket seemed to notice his astonishment.

"Heh. It really is something, right? About three feet of pure steelix metal. Practically unbreakable." Lance nodded vaguely and entered after the other man. With an quiet, eerie screech, the doors closed. The only thing illuminating the otherwise pitch-black cavern was a pinkish stone sitting high up on another rock. Some Rocket directed them towards a pair of elevators imbedded into the rock face of a cliff. Lance heard the sound of crashing water. There seemed to be one, or even multiple large waterfalls nearby.

Lance entered an elevator and continued walking up the designated path. As he reached the end of the road, he noticed a female Rocket standing next to the large stone. A Rocket executive. Obviously, the stone was of utmost importance to the Rockets if she was there. As the executive raised her hand, a hush fell over the crowd of Rockets. Lance noticed that there seemed to be Galactics present as well. His stomach dropped. That was definitely not good.

"SILENCE!" The immediate effect that the woman's words had additionally signified her rank and power. "I am Team Rocket Exeuctive Ariana! You all are here to witness something extraordinary, something that has never been seen in millennia! Thanks to our Galactic allies," she motioned towards another woman wearing a Galactic Executive uniform, "we have been able to acquire this legendary stone. This is the Lustrous Orb, the one which is said to control space itself!" A gasp and murmurs flooded the crowd. Lance froze. This was the objective of the organization? Not only had it teamed up with Team Galactic, one of the most powerful teams, the Rockets aimed to govern space?

"We will take this orb, and the other one, the adamant one, and control the very fabric of reality!" A cheer went up, and Lance knew that it was time to make his escape. He snuck out of the crowd, grateful for the cover of darkness. He needed to reach the rendezvous point with Looker in time. Lance reached a jagged passageway branching out from the main cavern and quickly slid into it. He continued his hurried scramble. However, Lance suddenly stopped. He seemed to be unable to move. He tugged at his foot, but it still remained steadfast, unyielding. Lance looked closer.

To his horror, Lance realized that his foot was sinking into the rocky floor. No, rather than the stone, it was melting into the deep, thick shadows. Before he could even yell out, Lance was consumed by the unrelenting darkness.

* * *

Red was getting excited. After realizing that the one who moderated the games, Rai, was simply too powerful to be a human, Red was able to narrow down the enigma's identity considerably. There were two realistic options: either Rai was a machine, an artificial intelligence, or Rai was a pokémon. The machine theory seemed too imaginative, as modern technology could barely imitate Rai's powers even in optimum conditions. Thus, Red had determined that Rai was an undiscovered or rare pokémon, even perhaps a fabled legendary. Red had been doing extensive research using all the materials which he was able to find, and had been able to logically and factually conclude that there were only three different possibilities for who Rai was, and out of those, one far outmatched the other two probabilistically. In conclusion, Red was feeling quite pleased.

"Pika?" Red smiled as Pika snuggled into his lap. Petting the electric rodent, Red leaned in his chair. Another game should be coming soon. Red smirked. The first phase of his plan was nearly completed. Gently removing Pika off of his lap, Red got up and fetched his Fear clothes. Donning the articles, he stood still. If he had calculated correctly, then Rai would forcibly transport him to the game world within a few minutes. Red grabbed a small cube, a device of his own invention.

Suddenly, the shadows coiled and thickened underneath Red's feet. His smirk growing, Red descended into the pitch-black abyss, knowing that he planned to never experience it again.

* * *

Rai was prepared to make this new game the most entertaining of them all. Rai's master had already vacated the distortion world and was setting the wheels of the war into motion. Rai knew that this was probably the last game that Rai would moderate, as the master had already found a greater source of entertainment. Rai sent out the shadows to summon all players to the field. Maybe the game would be less 'game' and more of a… 'massacre'? Rai grinned. That would surely be entertaining. Rai felt life signatures enter the game world, so soft, so warm, so… _fragile_. Rai laughed; it was a horrible, deafening, screeching sound. This would be a game to remember.

Rai felt the last competitor enter the world. With a grin on its deformed mouth, Rai began to announce the rules…

* * *

Blue was most definitely upset. He was having a spectacular day, completely normal, only marred by his grandfather's deteriorating condition. He was actually calm, even peaceful, practically for the first time since the voice in the auditorium had spoken to them. However, all illusions of peace were shattered by tendrils of darkness grabbing him and forcibly dragging him into the region of darkness, where the games were played.

Now, Blue waited until the moderator, of who was surely that same Rai, announced the sadistic, cruel rules to this new game. He waited until the other fear-driven, pitiful competitors would destroy each other simply to survive and continue their own meaningless existences. Blue shook his head. Since when had he been so cynical? _Since you were thrown into a death game_, the new, darker part of his brain answered. Blue calmed himself. It would be over soon. He had survived a game already, and he was sure that he could struggle through a second.

With a loud, high pitched noise, Rai's voice flooded the previously silent space. Blue clapped his hands over his ears.

"WELCOME TO THE NEXT GAME! AS YOU MOST LIKELY KNOW BY NOW, I AM RAI OF THE DARK! I AM HERE TO ANNOUNCE THE RULES OF OUR NEXT GAME! IT IS CALLED 'REVERSE FATAL TAG!" THE RULES ARE AS FOLLOWS:

THERE IS ONE, DESIGNATED 'IT' WHO WILL BE THE MAIN OBJECTIVE OF THIS GAME!

THE IT WILL BE EASILY DISCERNIBLE BY THE RED LIGHT FLASHING FROM THE 'IT' PENDANT HANGING FROM THEIR NECK!

EVERYONE ELSE IS AN ORDINARY PLAYER!

THE GOAL OF THIS GAME IS TO BE 'IT' WHEN THE GAME ENDS!

UNLIKE PREVIOUS GAMES, TO LOSE, A COMPETITOR MUST BE KILLED OR DIE FROM ANY REASON!

BOTH THE 'IT' AND REGULAR PLAYERS CAN KILL ANYONE THEY WANT TO WITHOUT REPERCUSSIONS!

IF THE ORIGINALLY CHOSEN 'IT' IS KILLED THEN THE ONE WHO KILLED THEM WILL BECOME THE NEW 'IT'!

AND FINALLY, THE GAME ENDS WHEN THERE IS ONLY ONE PERSON LEFT STANDING, THE WINNER 'IT'!

GOOD LUCK TO ALL COMPETITORS! NOW, THE GAME WILL BEGIN!"

Blue looked around in horror. The shadows had melted away into a simple, large room, with four doorways leading out, one on each wall. There were two other competitors in the room with him, both not 'it'. He checked to make sure he wasn't either, and confirmed it. However, the feeling of horror never went away. After all, it was obvious that these simple rule had been created with a purpose. This would be an all-out massacre, and Blue was caught right in the middle of it.

Suddenly, another horrible, screeching noise was heard. Blue held his ears and saw the others in the room do the same. What was it? Had Rai forgotten some rules? Was there some modification?

"AAAAAAAAAAAH!" The noise grated on Blue's ears. The sound was the worst he had heard. Blue felt as if his skin was melting.

"Hello, fellow competitors." A voice replaced the horrible sound. The voice was a smooth, silky one, and Blue felt himself unconsciously relax. This was not Rai's voice for sure. In the background, a panting noise could be heard.

"My name is Fear." Blue's senses went into overdrive. This was Fear? He got into a defensive position instinctively. Fear continued the speech.

"I mean no harm. In fact, you will most likely be very pleased with the modification of the rules that I have created. There is only one 'it', and when that it is killed, remaining competitors will be released. That it is none other than out favorite ex-moderator, Dark Rai!" Blue caught his breath. Fear had beaten Rai, a being that held an overwhelming amount of power? Was it possible? Or was it just a bluff, or even a trick by the moderator Rai itself?

"Actually, forget that. I will slay Rai myself. All of you are free. An remember; I am the one who saved you from imminent death. I am the one who protected the weak. I am Fear." Blue felt his consciousness slipping, and embraced the peace of oblivion.

* * *

High up on Mount Coronet, there is a plateau. Curious designs encircle this flat area, framed by broken pillars with sharp, spear-like points. In the center of the plateau is a design, a strange one which seems to embody power. This pattern felt like… an abomination, something that should be prevented from existing in the world. This was the design that suddenly hummed with power, pitch-black shadows shooting out and creating a whirlpool of darkness. Out of the chaos, a reptilian figure appeared, a horrible one with crooked tentacles, bloody eyes, and an evil aura. With a pulse of power, the figure transformed, whether inadvertently or purposely, into a much bulkier form. With a loud cry, the creature swept its tattered wings of darkness and rocketed up into the air, aiming for some adversary. Over it, a pair of wise eyes stared down at the creature, ready for impact. With an explosion that would be heard from hundreds of miles away, the top of Mount Coronet erupted into chaos. The war between legendary beings had begun.

* * *

"I-I have done as you have said! Let me go! You do realize that I will eventually regenerate, correct? I cannot die! I will haunt you forever if you do this!" The panicked cries of Rai seemed to have no effect on the masked figure standing across from it. The figure simply raised an arm. A yellow flash darted out next to the figure. It was a large rodent, charged with energy.

"How did you reach here, anyways?" The figure held up a glowing cube in response.

"It was created using modified pokéflute technology. Your nightmares won't work anymore." The figure's cold voice held no emotion.

"Now, it is time to dispose of you. When you regenerate, tell your master this: Fear is working against you, and Fear will be your demise." Rai screamed in one, continuous yell, until it was broken by a zapping noise and the sound of ripping flesh. The corpse dripped with purple blood, slowly vanishing into the shadows. The figure smirked inside of the mask. One eye glowed scarlet, piercing through the bloody, red shadows.

* * *

End of Part I

* * *

Hello, I'm back again! I deeply apologize for the long delay. I had a ton of stuff for school, and then I hit a writer's block. However, I'm finally done and the chapter is completed at last!

Even though it says 'End of Part I', this is definitely not the end of the story. I've already mostly planned it out, and it has a long ways to go.

There was a point to the last game, even if it was brief. the meaning will be revealed later, but I'm sure some people will be able to deduce the implications.

If there are any mistakes in my writing, such as grammar, spelling, or anything else, please point them out and I will fix them.

If there are any questions, I'll attempt to answer them.

Finally, please continue to read and review!


	10. IX: Broken Time

**IX: Broken Time**

_Lost time is never found again _

_-Benjamin Franklin_

* * *

**Red Shadows Part 2: Begin**

* * *

Unknown Location

It was a dark, completely silent room. The illusion of peace was shattered when a loud bang was heard as a shadowed, seemingly masculine figure slammed his fist onto a nearby table. A growl escaped his lips as he heard the new developments. He had put his other projects on hold simply to clean up the previous mess, the escaping of the M2 specimen, but now the scientists had completely lost track of it. Now it was up to _him_ to clean up all of this. The man picked up a paper-weight, as if to throw it, before catching himself. He straightened up and headed towards one of the room's windows. As he walked, he snapped his fingers. The shadows convulsed and a second figure appeared out of nowhere, its demeanor and stature signifying respect and obedience to the man. The first figure motioned with his hands.

"Begin the backup." The second figure nodded and vanished back into the darkness, as quickly and quietly as it had come. The once again solitary figure reached the window. As he pulled open the curtains, a bright light from outside filled the previously dark room. The man stood, a shadowed silhouette, framed and accented by the bright light surrounding him. As he looked outside, to the vast, lush mountains and forests, extending into the horizon, he smiled slightly, the corners of his mouth lifting up just ever-so-little. Then, he lifted up his hand, still carrying the paperweight, and squeezed, slowly crushing the metal object with pure, brute strength. The man's slight smile turned into an insane grin as he laughed, imagining that the world would soon take its place.

* * *

Gold was exhausted, to say the least. This day marked his official entrance into the Academy, a place reserved for the elite and remarkable. The cream of the crop, the best in the region, perhaps even the world attended the school, all holding some sort of power, whether it is physical, intellectual, political, or so forth. Fear was thought to have connections to this place, and Gold would never allow the terrorist to get the upper hand on him. Therefore, he had spent practically every waking hour since he had received his assignment studying and observing the Academy. In fact, he had pulled a few all-nighters before the big day. Now, as he walked down the gaudy path to the large entrance building, Gold somewhat regretted his decision.

As he looked around, he saw other students mingling and chatting with each other. Looking at their fine clothes and accessories and styled hair, Gold felt like a dirty, unkempt vagrant. Then he pushed away the feelings. He remembered something that he had been told long, long ago, that what one does is a far better measure of their character and worth than what their ancestors did. That was one of the things that Red used to tell him when they saw the obvious socioeconomic gap as city orphans.

_Red._

Gold had to admit; he was both looking forward to and dreading meeting him, if it even _was_ him. After all, it would be the first time that they'd see each other in person in nearly a decade. In fact, Gold wouldn't be too surprised if his surrogate brother had forgotten about him. He didn't think that he had made the same impact on Red as the older boy did to him. The idea felt incredibly depressing to Gold; the first true and only true friend that he had made may have never thought twice about him.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Gold stared out to the scene in front of him. Having reached the massive gates and standing right before them, he looked into the main campus of the Academy, and even with his extensive training, could not help but gawk in amazement.

Everywhere he looked, there were students, all dressed in the signature school uniform. Massive buildings lined various walkways and roads, all extending out from the massive central square. The scene felt more like a 5-star resort than a school, and Gold suddenly felt small and completely insignificant. Then he steeled himself, his eyes gaining a hard edge. This entire display was purposefully designed to intimidate people like himself, giving the Academy good subjects to mold to their liking. Gold took a deep breath and continued walking, before glancing around in confusion. The circular design of the entrance area made each branching road look almost exactly the same. If he took the wrong one, he wouldn't have enough time to correct his mistake.

"Are you lost?" Gold spun around on his heel and began a roundhouse kick before remembering that he was not to reveal his affiliation with the K.E.J.F in any way, at all cost. He quickly jammed his spinning leg to the ground, destroying the momentum and causing him to tumble down, as if tripping. Unfortunately, he knocked down the stranger behind him as well.

"Oof!" Gold rubbed the back of his head before taking a curious glance at the other person. He saw a dark-haired twin-tailed girl, looking to be about the same age as him.

"I'm sorry," Gold said as he got up and extended a helping hand. The girl grasped it and righted herself as well.

"It's fine. I guess it kinda _is_ my fault, you know, startling you and all…" The girl seemed to examine him. Gold did likewise. He was able to tell that she from some top-class family, or at least had ties with one. She seemed to heavily favor her legs, perhaps due to a deficiency in arm strength. She was also carrying an abnormal amount of water bottles.

"Crystal Waterglass," the girl said, extending her hand. Gold stared at it with suspicion.

"Excuse me?"

"Crystal Waterglass. That's my name. Nice to meet you, um…" Crystal trailed off awkwardly. Gold suddenly remembered that he was in a friendly, social environment.

"Ethan Heart," he said, taking Crystal's outstretched hand. Crystal smiled.

"So anyways, you looked a little lost. Are you new?" Gold nodded. "That's good. I can show you to… oh! That's my class! How convenient!" Gold sighed. He would have preferred less social interaction, but it seemed as if he would be unable to avoid it. Even worse, this girl, _Crystal_, seemed to be interested in him less because of kindness and more because of curiosity. If he did something wrong, the whole school would most likely know shortly. He sighed. He would have no choice but to follow. After all, he needed to blend in, remain in the shadows, and collect data, not stand out.

* * *

Red was in a cheerful, or at least as cheerful as he was able to be. The first phase of his plan had been completed with few glitches. He now simply needed to continue; it was all within his calculations. Admittedly, there were a few unexpected factors, such as the G.R.A.M. Alliance and the stone filled with power. However, ultimately, he was still confident.

Regardless of how well the plan was functioning, it was absolutely necessary for him to continue visiting the Academy. He snorted. Who had thought of putting the all of the elite and the children of the elite in one, small area? The place was overflowing with information, and Red loved it. Not to mention, the school had cutting-edge technology as well. A few pieces of equipment going missing now and then were unnoticeable. That was precisely what Red was lacking. Information and resources. And now, he had the perfect method of gaining them. He grinned as Pika jumped on his lap, demanding Red to scratch the rodent's back. For now, everything seemed to be doing well.

* * *

Blue was rather bored, as usual. There was nothing to stimulate his mind, and he had just finished reading the only book that he was carrying. He slumped onto his desk, burying his head into his arms. With nothing else to keep it occupied his mind desperately grabbed out. Blue sighed, thinking about the whole 'game' fiasco. He was almost convinced that some kind of a hypnosis-typed divine had been used on him and the others, but he knew better than that. The entire thing had been real, Rai, Fear, and all. For someone who valued intelligence more than strength, he admired Fear. However, at the same time, slightly ironically, he feared him. The masked figure may have been able to convince other players that he had been using some powerful divine, but Blue had gone over the scenes in his head, playing them out. There was no concrete or singular attribute to Fear's abilities. Blue knew: all of the games had gone as the enigmatic leader had planned; he had simply strategized and destroyed a power greater than what Blue himself was able to imagine.

"Yo, Blue!" Blue looked up, bleary-eyed, adjusting to the bright sunlight. He spotted Gary waving at him from the classroom's door.

"What." Blue was rather irritable, as was he always when his thoughts were interrupted.

"We have _another_ new classmate here! Can you believe it? He's a guy again, though, unfortunately." Blue turned his head slightly so he was able to see the crowd of people hovering in the hallway immediately behind Gary.

"I don't care." Blue turned his head back, about to return to his thoughts once again, when he something caught his attention from the corner of his eye. Blue's eyes widened.

Standing there was… _Ethan_?

Blue blinked a few times before allowing logic to grip his mental functions once again. It was definitely possible. After all, He, Chris, Gary, and Leaf had all participated in a game at one time or another. Why not others, especially in this elite school?

Blue stood up and walked towards the door. Ignoring the stares, he pushed aside the crown and came face-to-face with the new student, whose eyes widened as well. They both glared before marching off. After losing the rest of the crowd, they stopped.

"Who are you?" Blue questioned. Ethan remained poker-faced. Blue frowned.

"Listen, I know this seems strange, but in terms of probability, it actually isn't. What I want to know, though, is what you're after," The other boy's eyes narrowed, "because I know you were hiding something during the game. So, what is it?" Blue returned the glare. There was a tense silence.

"There is absolutely no reason for you to know. However, I will admit that you were correct about me hiding something. Other than that, we're done here." Ethan turned around to go back, when he stopped.

"Why do you want to know? You're treading on dangerous grounds." A golden, questioning iris was visible. Blue smirked.

"It's because I'm bored, obviously. What else?" Ethan smirked slightly as well before walking away. Blue looked out a nearby window, staring at the vast, never-ending blue sky. Perhaps he would no longer be bored. Oh, he had no idea.

* * *

Red was ridiculously paranoid. Whether it was his desire to not fail the plan at this stage, an error in his calculations, or just simply gut instinct, he felt as if there was something completely, terribly wrong. However, he had pushed down this feeling and had entered the Academy. Staying away from all crowds, his eyes flickered back and forth, analyzing all nearby people and determining their threat levels. So far, he hadn't encountered anybody who seemed like trouble, but Red knew that something was going to happen. As he entered his classroom, he immediately took a seat in the back corner in order to be able to observe everyone.

He noticed an unusual amount of excitement among the other students, but chalked it up to some test or something equally insignificant. As the bell rang, announcing the start of the day to all, Red noticed a familiar face mingling in the crowd. He looked closer… Ethan? Red became more suspicious before observing the way the boy carried himself, seemingly relaxed but always ready and poised to either strike or run. The boy's golden eyes momentarily connected with Red's crimson-brown ones and the latter felt a flicker of recognition, igniting shred of memory. It couldn't be…

Right as Red was about to speak out, the classroom's door slammed open fully. Red glanced over as their teacher came in. Red glanced at him warily. He still didn't know his background, and although the slightly tall, well-built man with light brown hair seemed ordinary, there was definitely something different, off even. After all, he would have to something special to even hope to get a staff position at the Academy.

"Hello, class." The students responded, some uninterested, others cheerfully. The professor stepped up to the front of the classroom, and standing up straight, commanded everyone's attention.

"Today we will be discussing the advanced details of the mysterious power of divine. Many have approached me with questions, especially after the debut of the enigmatic Fear," Out of the corner of his eye, Red saw the new student sit up a little straighter, "and exactly what power Fear holds. To answer this, I must delve into a topic on a branch of divine which is still heavily debated on its legitimacy. You may have heard about it; the cursed." One could hear a pin drop in the classroom. Even those students who had previously ignored the professor were paying rapt attention now. The professor continued on.

"Cursed were first introduced by the esteemed Professor Oak as a hypothetical power which defied the previously accepted rules which bound divine. Can anyone tell me what those are?" A student in the back raised their hand.

"A divine is a power than either controls or manipulates a particular physical substance. In some cases, it can do both. However, the substance must originate from the user in the case of production, and must have contact with the used in the case of manipulation." The professor nodded his head in approval.

"Good. Now, a cursed is essentially a divine that deviates from these rules in some way. Some divine have been able to originate their power from a distance; others have control over an idea, and so forth." The professor paused, scanning the room, examining the dozens of interested faces staring at him intently. He took a deep breath and continued.

"You must remember. They are called cursed for a reason. Although the concept was only officially released as a scientific concept within recent times, rumors have been circulating for ages, from both unknown and credible sources. Disaster will befall anyone who is affected by a cursed." With that, the professor stopped, leaving the awestruck and fearful students in silence.

Red stared out of the window, contemplating. He had known about the cursed experiment, how the existence of deviant divine came to be known. He also knew the rumours, having researched quite a bit into the topic himself. However, he had never been able to find any reference of someone having no divine altogether.

Still lost in thought, Red casually looked over at the school's entrance when a flicker of black caught his eye. He looked closer. Some man wearing black was carefully and stealthily weaving in and out of buildings. Red's paranoia increased. Another minuscule flicker was registered in the corner of his eye. As he looked over, another black-clad figure was creeping about.

Red stood up suddenly, pushing his chair back and creating a horrible screeching noise.

"I'm feeling sick. Please excuse me." He quickly strode out of the shocked class. Red started off at a fast walk, but slowly increased it to a fast jog and then to a full out sprint. His jacket flying out behind him, he jumped down the large marble staircase, skidding on the handrails. As he reached the ground floor of that particular building, Red saw another black-clad figure steal into it. He ducked behind a pillar. As the unsuspecting figure came closer, Red took off his jacket and belt. Hooking the belt into the jacket sleeve, he wore the article of clothing once again. Then, he sprinted back to the staircase. Glancing back, he saw the figure start and then give chase.

Red shot past the marble stairs and rocketed towards the more modest wooden ones which headed down to the first basement level. He slung his belt and hooked a pillar on the marble stairs and stopped suddenly. The figure was unprepared and crashed, pushing both of them over the edge. However, Red's momentum was halted by the belt, while the figure crashed down the steps. After waiting for a few seconds, Red cautiously walked down and checked the figure's pulse. They were alive, but definitely unconscious. Red grinned.

Within a few minutes, he had dressed up into the figure's black garments. After covering his face, there shouldn't be any way to tell them apart. Red slowly walked out of the building, only to find dozens of other black-clad figures operating. He quickly ducked into a small service road. Although the clothing would disguise him if he was seen, if he actually had to interact with the others, then he would most likely be found out easily.

Red opened a door behind him and entered. Groping for the lights in the dark, he found a switch. Upon flooding the room with light, Red found a small room with no windows and one door, the perfect place to hide out. He grinned once again.

* * *

Chris was having an amazing day. She had started it off by meeting a new student, instant material to share. The day was bright and sunny, just how she liked it. Also, it seemed as if Blue and Ethan knew each other somehow. Figuring it all out would be an excellent distraction from her recent stress about the 'games'. Thus, she had entered the classroom and sat down like any other day, albeit more excited than usual.

"So, Chris… why so jumpy?" Chris looked up. Leaf and just arrived. She smiled and Chris grinned.

"Wait until I tell you. There's this…" BANG. The classroom door had slammed open. Chris ribbed her head. She must have been so preoccupied that she didn't even hear the bell. As Leaf took a seat next to her, Chris thought about the recent bloody games. The last one had ended in a peculiar fashion, and there hadn't been any since. No, rather than saying it ended, it never began. Chris waved away the imaginings, however. She had no use for them anymore. As far as she was concerned, that entire phase of her life had never happened. She stared listlessly at the front of the room while the teacher continued.

Suddenly, a horrible screeching noise jarred her into reality. Quickly turning around, she noticed that the previous transfer student had stood up suddenly, rigid, staring outside. With his only explanation being that he 'felt sick', he exited the room. It was rather strange, as the guy never seemed to strike her as someone who wanted to stand out. The opposite may be true.

Chris leaned back in her again as the teacher continued, ignoring the momentary interruption. Chris tried to balance herself on just two legs of her chair and got annoyed when it proved to be tougher than anticipated. Leaf watched her, giggling slightly. Everything seemed peaceful.

Then, a vibration suddenly spread through the floor. Everyone felt it and the teacher paused. It died away quickly. Chris continued her pastime when suddenly; an explosion shattered the room's windows.

"What the…!" There were screams as everyone tried to avoid the potentially deadly debris. As a second one rang out, Chris ducked beneath her desk. She saw Leaf do the same.

"What's going on?!" She screamed.

"I don't know!" Leaf shouted back. A third and fourth explosion went off. Leaf pointed at and motioned towards the door. Chris nodded in affirmation. The two crawled towards the exit when a couple of large men in suits blocked the doorway. Chris recoiled. Leaf shot a stream of flame in desperation, but the heat vanished as it made contact with their assailant.

"ATTENTION EVERYONE!" All of the people in the classroom flinched at the loud volume. The intercom had turned on.

"This is Dawn Berlitz, heir to the Berlitz family, speaking. We have taken over this facility. Do not resist, or you will be met with lethal force. Stay where you are; my henchmen will detain you and take you to another location. In the case of someone trying to play the hero, I will tell you this: No divine will work on them. Now, stay quiet, mongrels." Chris looked at Leaf. Although the message seemed ludicrous, Leaf's attack had vanished as if it had been nullified. Chris reached over and touched her water bottle, wetting her fingers slightly. She was unable to manipulate the liquid. She shook her head minutely at Leaf, who frowned. This was not going to be fun.

* * *

Silver stared, emotionless, at the cackling girl in front of him. She seemed so… strange, as if she was a separate entity, inhuman. Dawn Berlitz was a constant thorn in his side, forever nagging, annoying, and tormenting him. However, Silver had to admit, she was able to back up her words, and even he knew that she would probably be able to best him if given enough time to concoct a plan. In fact, the only time that he had ever seen her beaten was against that mysterious Fear.

Currently, Silver was overseeing the operation from its heart. He and Dawn had planned this almost since they had teamed up. This school, the Academy, was not just a learning institution. Valuable, classified files and information were stored in its archives. One could find almost anything there if given access and enough time. The former concept was a thing that neither of them had, thus leading to the operation. An added bonus was the hostage situation; a single one of these kids was worth far more than Silver would ever be.

"What's the latest there?" Silver glanced at Dawn, making sure that she had intended the question to be for him.

"Nothing much. Everything is going smoothly." Dawn nodded with satisfaction.

"He only one who has defeated me is that Fear, and I will get my revenge!" Silver rolled his eyes before returning his attention to his own screen. Hos gray eyes widened.

"Dawn… we have a problem…" The girl turned sharply. "What."

"Well, one entire border unit has been taken out…" This time, it was the Berlitz heiress's turn to be shocked.

"What!"

"That's not all, either… an internal unit is being taken out right now. I've sent reinforcements, but…" The way that they had set up their strategy was to have a few 'border units' spread out thinly to scout the area and alert the main 'internal units' of danger. However, if internal units were being taken out…

"I'm afraid that we've been pierced." Dawn's shock turned to anger.

"By who? By what? Do you have a visual? How is it possible if they can't use divine on us?" Silver tapped in a few sequences of codes and turned back.

"We have no visual. There is no trace of any type of divine being used. We're completely in the dark." Dawn turned red with anger. She looked back at the screen, staring at the arrangement of her troops. She nodded, and then slowly smiled a cruel, sadistic grin.

"I know this style. There's only one person who could do this." She turned towards Silver, whose stomach dropped.

"Looks like we have a rematch with Fear."

* * *

Gold didn't know what to expect when Red had abruptly left the room. However, he knew that if he was indeed Red, then something had happened. Gold had quickly glanced out the windows and, after a moment, spotted an intruder. Thus, he had a split second to react before the following events began to occur. As the first vibration shook the school, he quietly snuck to the back of the room. Then the explosions hit. Rubble began to streak down on him and the floor shook dangerously. He had simply held up his hand and the stone had turned to dust, no visible contact made. He had ducked into a cabinet, having been able to escape the notice of the intruders. That was where he was currently, mind reeling over the implications.

Had the Berlitz family decided to claim the information in the Academy's archives for itself? After all, that was the only logical conclusion. Gold narrowed his eyes. He had no idea about exactly what kind of information was stored in the archives, but it had to be something either extremely important or very valuable. It was most likely something on divine…

Gold flinched slightly. The professor's talk about cursed still remained in his mind. He hated it, the name, the rumors, all of it. After all, he himself had a cursed. Whenever he was asked about the nature of his power, he wasn't able to answer. Usually, he simply made something up, a convenient excuse. However, that didn't prevent him from being affected whenever the topic was brought up.

Shaking his head, Gold looked around at his shadowed surroundings in the dark, cramped space in which he was in. He would contemplate cursed later; right now he had to escape. Gold closed his eyes, focusing. Concentrating his power, he built it up before releasing it. A bright flash ignited, dyeing his eyelids a glowing red. Gold opened his eyes. The once dark insides of the cabinet now flared with glaring, white light originating from an unknown source. It seemed as if the light was simply _there_, not caused by anything.

Studying the back wall of the cabinet, Gold found a solid wood board, most likely with cement behind it. He sighed, focusing his power again. Gold clenched his fist, straining his muscles, and lashed out at the wood. The wall exploded into shards, scattering on the ground in the hallway revealed behind the cabinet. Strangely enough, not a sound was made during the entire process. Gold looked around and, after finding the hallway to be empty, got out. He turned towards the building's entrance and dashed down, shrouded in silence.

As he ran, Gold contemplated on the actions he could take. Obviously, with most of the school infiltrated and divine usage negated, he wouldn't be able to use conventional methods. Brute force tactics was not the way to go. He needed a strategy; outsmarting the opposition was best. Immediately, his thoughts went to Red. The way that Red had left the room and escaped before the intruders captured the rest of the students left little doubt in mind of the black-haired enigma's identity. The guy was one of the most intelligent that Gold had ever met, even with his extensive involvement in the secretive parts of the force. Red would undoubtedly be able to make a working plan.

A slight whistling sound interrupted Gold's thoughts. He barely had the time to see the sleek, silver bullet before it scraped his cheek and lodged itself in the cement behind him, leaving a bloody trail. Gold cursed at his lapse in attention before turning towards his assailant, a large man dressed in pitch-black attire. The grinning man fired another volley of bullets. However, Gold was prepared this time. Raising his hands, the projectiles slowed down, seeming to almost halt completely. Then, in the next instant, they vanished, leaving behind a silvery powder floating in the air. Gold took advantage of the man's confusion by rocketing off of the floor under him, leaving behind a small impact crater. As he shot towards his opponent, hair flying behind him, the large man braced himself. Gold smirked slightly. It was useless. He lightly touched the man's arm as he landed. Nothing happened. The man grinned, thinking that his opponent had failed, and lunged. Suddenly, he exploded, skin tearing apart and blood squirting everywhere. His face contorted in pain before twisting, eyeballs popping out of their sockets. Within a few seconds, he had been reduced to a mass of bloody, oozing flesh.

Gold looked at the mess impassively, then turned to continue on his way, and ice-cold look settling into his eyes. They were the eyes of a killer.

* * *

The inside of the cabin is nearly empty; it has been furnished with the minimum amount of accessories. It seems to be a hideout more than a residence. The bare inside is shadowed, only one corner bathed in a warm golden glow. It is in this corner where the only resident of the structure can be seen, hurriedly packing a bag. The snow swirls outside, the wind wailing a low, ominous note. The man stiffens, then turns around, revealing himself to be Professor Rowan. He stares intently at the wooden entrance. After a period of silence, he turns back to continue his work.

Suddenly, the door crashes in as if flung by some extraordinary force, allowing the raging blizzard outside to enter the sanctuary. Rowan jumps back, pressing himself against the wall, clutching a package wrapped in cloth. Men dressed in black file in, each with a bold, red 'R' emblazoned on their chest. The part momentarily to allow access to a tall, red-haired woman who sports a cruel smirk. She throws the limp, lifeless body that she was dragging behind her in front of Rowan. It rolls over, revealing itself to be a barely alive Lucas. Rowan gapes upon the scene with horror. The woman's sadistic grin grows larger as she approaches the professor. In a deliberate attempt to anger the old man, the woman spits on Lucas's still body. Something in the old professor snaps.

With a scream, he slams his hand on the cabin floor, causing it to explode, sending shards of wood in all directions. The woman and her associates reel back, protecting themselves. The professor takes advantage of this and runs away into the blizzard, knowing that everything will be over if the woman manages to acquire the contents of his parcel. The man fights the battering wind and sleet as slowly makes his way towards the large, imposing shadow that stands, overlooking the area. Its jagged peak seems unnaturally dark, a black box, absorbing all light.

The man hears yells and looks back. He sees that the woman and her associates have recovered and are giving chase. Tightening his coat against the bitter weather, he strives forwards, making sure the parcel is safe. The yelling behind him increases.

Another explosion shakes the ground, hurling Rowan through the air. He soars through the air briefly, catching a gust of wind, before crashing into a pile of cold, white snow. He looks upwards and sees the peak of the mountain rising above him. The man, although exhausted, his muscles aching with cold and going limp with fatigue, continues, knowing that he has almost reached his destination.

Unfortunately, it is not meant to be. As the professor approaches the mouth of the large cave entrance to the mountain, a hand shoots out from behind the curtain of snow and grabs his shoulder. Four more arms, clad in black, grab and detain the professor. The parcel slips from his hands and lands softly, cushioned by the snow. The professor struggles as the woman bends down to pick up the cloth-covered package from the ground, but it is to no avail. As she takes off its wrappings, the woman laughs, a horrible, cruel sound. She cradles a sparkling blue orb, glowing with power. She had succeeded.

However, Rowan will not give up without a fight. He lunges forward, taking his captors by surprise, and slams his hand onto the pulsing stone. Some of the woman's other associates quickly grab him and he is detained once again. Rowan smiles, knowing that he has done what was necessary. The woman shakes off her momentary surprise at seeing that the stone has not been damaged.

Suddenly, the stone sends out spears of blinding blue light. Faint webs of cracks appear on its surface before widening into larger abrasions. All of the members of the woman's company watch in horror as the stone slowly explodes into a bright, sparkling powder. There is a silence in the midst of the raging storm. No one moves, talks, or breathes. Then, the world vanishes into light and time stops, broken.

* * *

**A/N**

Hello once again, readers of Red Shadows. I apologize for the new chapter being so late, but I was occupied with other matters. I also had some difficulty with writing this one, mainly the casual dialogue at the beginning. I'll try to post faster from now on, but chapters will most likely come out slower than before. However, they won't take months.

The plot moves forwards, and the characters will soon begin to meet and interact with each other. I tried to explain the concept of divine in this chapter, and it will be gone into more thoroughly later.

Next, if any typos, glitches, or just general errors are found, inform me and I will fix them.

If you have a question about the story, ask and I will try to answer.

Finally, as always, thanks for reading! Please review and leave your thoughts, comments, and any constructive criticism.


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